One Piece Ultimate: New Nakama
by 4fireking
Summary: Continuing from One Piece Ultimate Adventure, Fletcher and Supaiku have been separated from their crew on their way to Dressrosa. With Fletcher losing his wind powers, he and Supaiku head for different islands looking for people to help them. They say hello to new friends, say good-bye to the debris, and fight with Luffy in the Battle of Marineford. STOY
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hello. My name is 4fireking. At first I wanted to make this a very long, one part story, but a reviewer of mine felt the story was just going to go on until I was bored. I showed him. The beginning is a little weird, but it will reveal itself later on in the story. Thanks for reading. I would like to thank BTolson23 for his character idea. This is a STOY story, so give me your character ideas. Also, I got this prologue from Snibbity Dibbity and his Yu-Gi-Oh GX: The End of Eternity story. **

**XXX**

**_Prologue…_**

My name is Fletcher G. Perkman. I am the rival of Straw Hat Luffy and his pirate crew. I have a total of twelve members on my crew. There's me, Fletcher G. Perkman, I'm a rock—well, actually I'm human but I was raised by a roc.

My first mate, and also a fishman and also my Swordsman Supaiku. My third mate is Sherry a princess who can transform into a giant cat, a doctor who can heal wounds, and has the strength of a gorilla when she's angry at people, mostly me.

My fourth mate's name is Dorobou. His our ship's Sniper. But he doesn't use guns. He just uses coins and a long chain he hits people with. He's also very lazy. On our ship all he would do is sleep. He likes gambling with us, but always loses.

Our Chef Christopher. Christopher is the most sane of all us and he likes to cook. Christopher didn't like it when Victor, our eight mate, smoked. He also ate a Devil Fruit that could strength his tongue really wide. But he died. He was fighting an enemy in a castle, and he died. My crew performed a funeral for him, but something came and scared them away.

Our Navigator Yokai, who doesn't need paper to show him the way. He's also a pervert. He keeps touching girl's butts. " _Will you be willing to bear my child?" _Yokai was the second strongest member of my crew, before Nautilus joined. Despite being a monk, he swears and kills. He used to be an assassin for his evil uncle.

Our Shipwright Avalon. Her dream is to record the Pirate King's Adventure. Mine. She is a cross dresser. Yes, she's a girl who loves dressing up as a guy and tricking everyone into thinking that she is a boy. She is mostly silent and talks only when being asked something or the situation demands it. She's surprisingly shy around people, but often pretends to ignore people to hide her shyness. She could be stern and somewhat demanding, but it has a good reasons behind it. She loves ancient things and something along the line of that, sometimes, she even started to babble to herself about the history of the item or about how awesome it is, ignoring everything around her. However, you don't want to ** her off. Why? Because when you do that, she wasn't afraid to hurt you in the worst possible way or started to give you death threats consist of torturing methods. She hates boys in passion, and is quite awkward around girls.

Our Trainer Victor. Victor is very serious when it comes to fighting and seeks out battle whenever he can. He is also very protective of his daughter. He acts cold and uncaring to anyone he meets but his daughter says it because a lot of bad things have happen to him over the years and is secretly a softy. He knows the bushido code and follows it with his heart. Victor is always seen with a cigar in his mouth or lighting one up before a fight. He isn't sexist and will fight anyone if their strong. Likes His daughter, his swords and training, doing his morning and nightly pray to his wife, strong opponents and cigars. Hates, Weak people, Losing, seeing his daughter get hurt or cry, women trying to date him and has no respect for themselves and people who pick on cowards.

Victor's daughter and Choreboy Maria. She is sweet and caring to anyone she meets unlike her father and knows how to read peoples emotions and body language in and out of battle. Likes Maria likes her father & Mother, flowers, sweets, animals, having fun , training with her dad, doing girl stuff like doing each others hair, make up and talking about boys which are all things her father doesn't want her talking about and doing till she's older and he's dead. Hates, Maria hates it when her father smokes, women surrounding her father, her father getting hurt or upset, and the crew upset or hurt, seeing people upset and bad people doing bad things, slavery etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

Our Carpenter Kaollu. Kaoolu was born a girl, who was a Scylla, became a fishman-man, commanded an entire army of fishmen, met me, turned into a girl, and fell in love with me. Ironic, huh? Kaollu is now a mermaid and practices in the art of magic. She's one of the nicest girl members on my crew.

Our Musician Nautilus. He's probably the most giddy of my crew and is confused about his sexuality, that's why he tries to get my attention. He's also one of my strongest since he swallowed a Divine Logia fruit. He likes to sing, play his harp, and hope to make friends. On our crew he has lots of friends. Us!

This is my crew. Together we are searching for One Piece. But the evil Dartz's, he came and separated my crew. Now they're on different islands. Only me and my first mate Supaiku can find him.

###

Fletcher breathed heavily as blood oozed from several of his wounds. His whole body was filled with pain and yet, he had a smile on his face. He could feel his consciousness slipping away as his vision blurred and Alduin's manically laughter filled his ears.

He was going to die here. He didn't want to die. He still had dreams to fill. He wanted to go with no regrets. He turned slightly to his wife Sherry who was watching him with fear showing on her beautiful face. Oh how he wanted to reach out to her and tell her that everything would be fine, but he knew that telling her lies wasn't going to ease that pain that was to befall her.

Tears cascaded down Sherry's face as she watched him close his eyes, his breath becoming more ragged with each breath he took. " Hey…don't cry," Fletcher said weakly. " You have to be strong. For our children."

He coughed violently, spitting up blood. He frowned at the metallic taste but continued speaking to her nonetheless. " I know that there's nothing I can say that will make the pain go away. But we'll see each other again somebody. That to you, my love, I promise."

Sherry shook her head. " No, please, let me help you."

Fletcher shook his head in return, " No…I'm the only one who can say that. This is my responsibility." Alduin's maniacal laughter increased in volume as a blinding light consumed both Fletcher's and Sherry's vision.

Fletcher winced. " Sorry, but it looks like I have to go. Since I won't see you again for a while, I'll leave you with these last parting words. I love you. I always have…and I always will. I'm just glad you showed me…you love me, too. See you…"


	2. Chapter 2

" Fletcher. Fletcher! Wake up, idiot!"

A gray, impenetrable wall of fog. From somewhere comes the faint sound of a man's voice, singing, slow tempo almost under his breath:

" I'm a fishman. We like to sing. I'm singing because I'm marooned on this ship. I like to sing. Yo, ho, yo, ho, it's a fishman pirate's life for me."

Suddenly a massive ship emerges from the grey, the maidenhead looming. It's a dreadnought, but it's hull is smashed away, no guns, and the only thing keeping it afloat was Supaiku's tremendous strength striding the oar through the water.

Supaiku was a fishman; a creature with the appearance of a fish that could walk on land, and speak the tongue of men and fish folk alike. He was dark blue color everywhere except on his underbelly which was light blue. He had a large dorsal fin on his back and gills appeared on his face stretching down to his shoulders. He wore brown pants with grey swirls on his back. Attached to his waist was a holster with one sword in it hung at his waist. He had three layers of teeth showing. He was a Mako Shark Fishman.

His captain, Fletcher, had a more serious look to him. When he first meet Fletcher he was around the age of seventeen, now he was eighteen and average height, but with soft baby-like skin. Brown eyes, his hair was clean black shaven though not bald, lean yet somewhat muscular, wore a gray over coat that hugged his body well, along with some black big pocket shorts with loose belts hanging from them, barefoot. Fletcher also had a cross-shaped scar under his eyes. When he was angry, his eyes turned crimson red.

Fletcher was an idiot and lazy. He couldn't read maps, he couldn't use swords, he couldn't fire a gun, he couldn't cook, couldn't fix a ship, couldn't heal wounds, couldn't even clean a single dish. The only thing that made up for his laziness was his chivalry and power.

" Supaiku, did you hear something?"

" I heard you snoring. In fact, I think you woke the whole sea up with your snoring."

Fletcher languidly stretched. Fletcher's stomach grumbled. It had been a fortnight since Supaiku and Fletcher started their new journey together, looking for the seven other members of Fletcher's crew, right now Fletcher was so hungry he could eat an entire bison.

" What's for breakfast, Supaiku?"

" Nothing."

" What?"

" Nothing." Supaiku banged his feet against the raft three times. " There's nothing here to eat. There hasn't been anything to eat since we lost everyone. I lost the love of my life, I lost my swords, and I'm stuck with an idiot captain who can't even spell his own name."

" That must be hard," Fletcher said. He had no idea the "idiot" Supaiku was referring too was him.

" All the while Robin's probably out there, just when she remembers who I am, I'll never be able to see her again." Supaiku turned at Fletcher and snarled. His hundreds of sharp teeth glinted in his eyes. " You have no idea what it's like to lose something, Fletcher, and you never will!"

" Hey Supaiku."

" What?"

" Doesn't this remind you of something?"

" What?"

" It reminds me of the first day we met, remember? It was just you and me, sailing on a raft, looking for people to join our crew?" Fletcher suddenly became quiet. Thinking about losing the Green Gale was hard on him. Fletcher thought about going down with his ship if he wasn't thinking more about his nakama. " I miss Gale."

" It was just a ship. And there never was an "us". It was just you and me, two idiots, looking for other idiots to join us."

" Who's an idiot? You're the only idiot here, Supaiku."

" We're both idiots so let's leave it at that!"

" I'm pretty sure you're the biggest idiot here, Supaiku."

" I'm going too—oh what's the use? You're not worth it."

Supaiku saw skeletal remains on their journey ahead. The skeletal remains of four pirates, still clad in buccaneer rags, hang from gallows erected on a rocky promontory. There is a fifth, unoccupied gallows, bearing a sign:

PIRATES - BE WARNED

The top of a billowing sail passes regally in front of them. On the landward face of the sail, apparently high in the rigging, is a man for whom the term 'swashbuckling rogue' was coined: Captain FLETCHER G. PERKMAN

He gazes keen-eyed at the display as they pass. Raises a tankard in salute. Suddenly, something below catches his attention. He jumps from the rigging and that's when we see that his ship is not an imposing three-master, but just a small fishing dory with a single sail, plowing through the water - the Jolly Mon. And it leaks. Which is why he has the tankard: to bail.

Fletcher and Supaiku steps back to the tiller, and using a single sheet to control the sail, and the Jolly Mon comes around the promontory, the whole port laid out before them. The huge British dreadnaught, H.M.S. Dauntless dominates the bay. But Jack's attention is on a different ship: the H.M.S. Interceptor, a small sleek vessel with rail guns and a mortor in the middle of the main deck. It is tied up at the Navy landing, at the base of the cliffs below Fort Charles.

Smoothly and with no wasted movement, Fletcher and Supaiku hauls down the sail,stows it, guides the dory alongside a dock. The harbor master, a long ledger tucked under his arm, is there to catch the line and help Fletcher tie up.

" If you're rolling scuppers in this tub, you're either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid," the harbor master said.

" It's remarkable how often those two traits coincide," Supaiku muttered.

Supaiku starts up the dock, strapping on his sword belt; besides the scabbard, it also carries a compass, pistol and small powder horn. The harbor master cuts him off.

" It's twenty beli's for the dock space. And you're going to have to give me your name."

" What do you sat fifty beli's and we forget the name?"

Supaiku tosses fifty beli's onto the ledger. The harbor master considers, then shuts the ledger on the coins, steps aside. " Welcome to Oakland Royal, ."

Supaiku gives him a half-salute as he goes past. Looks across the water toward the Interceptor and smiles. Among the parapets, he sees Fletcher exploring Oakland Royal without him, sighs.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **I would like to thank Death's General and Btolson23 for helping me make this chapter.

Fletcher walked through a dark alleyway, then hit into a wall.

" Ow, it hurts!" He rubbed his forehead. His little bird-brain realised it was a dead end. Fletcher shouted up in the alleyway. " My name is Fletcher G. Perkman! Let me through!"

" Fletcher G. Perkman."

Fletcher turned around and saw a boy. His eyes are a peculiar shade of aquamarine mixed with emerald that are only enhanced by the dark bag under his eyes, short spiky white hair that covers most of his head while simultaneously sticking up and slightly to the left giving him a lazy bed head look, pale skin and is wearing a dark purple shirt, grey shorts, brown boots and carrying a tonfa.

" So, you want to fight?" Fletcher asked. A smile crept on his face at the thought of getting to fight someone after several long weeks.

" Not only that, I want to take your bounty!" Exclaimed the boy. But before the boy could move, a hand clasped onto his right shoulder.

" Patrick? What are you doing here?" Fletcher looked at the woman who spoke. Her hair was in an lavender pigtails, and she wore a navy blue tanktop, showing her belly. On her feet were sandals, and trousers much shorter than formal, and despite her age her breasts were surprisingly flat.

" Sis, what are you doing here?" Patrick the "bounty hunter" said.

The " bounty hunters" sister sighed. " I thought I told you not to talk to strangers? Especially one's with bounties."

" B-But he's got a two hundred and ten million beli bounty. That's one hundred and fifty more than the bounties we get around here."

The sister didn't seem to care about Fletcher's bounty. She turned to him, blinked, then smiled at him. " Sorry about my brother. Now it may not be much, but how about I make you dine at my bar. It's Free of Charge."

" Food! Food! Food!" Fletcher said hopping up and down like a nine year old at Christmas. Both Patrick and his sister sweat dropped when they saw how eccentric Fletcher was. " Is your brother going to help you?"

" Yep. He's also my assistant chef." The sister ruffled Patrick's hair. " Patrick, go and get a meal ready for this nice man!" She commanded. Patrick complied, and ran off, embarrassed.

" Would it be too much to ask for your name?" She asked Fletcher.

" My name is Fletcher G. Perkman." When Fletcher said his name he expected her to cleave a knife at him, but she did not react. " What's your name pretty, and cooking lady?"

" My name is Patricia. I'm the head cook of Oakland Green Leaf. Follow me to my bar, kind sir."

" Alright! FOOOOOOD!"

###

" Wow. This place looks totally cool!" Fletcher said as he stared at a dark green and purple tavern with the sign " **_Catchy Oakland Green Leaf Tavern!" _**written on it and walked inside with Patricia.

Fletcher glanced at the tavern patrons and saw that they looked exactly like Patricia. He didn't make any eye contact and walked counter to see _Patricia._

" What can I get ya, sugar?" The Patricia behind the counter asked.

" Uh, how much food am I allowed?" Fletcher asked.

" Today, it's all free." The Patricia winked at Fletcher who clapped his hands together.

" Free! Give me MEAT!"

Patricia turned around to face the small window. On the other side there was…Patricia? Fletcher wondered if she had some kind of Devil Fruit that could split her body apart like Nautilus and Pride could do. " Laura, serve up a meaty one. We got ourselves a hungry one on the port bow."

###

" This food…is great!" Fletcher said, on his sixth helping of Patricia and Patrick's perfect culinary skills. With every compliment Fletcher gave Patricia, she giggled.

" It's always nice to see someone who likes to eat. But I think a perfect husband would be one who can cook for his wife," Patricia winked at Fletcher.

" I wonder…would you like to join me and Supaiku on our crew?"

" You and Supaiku?" Asked Patricia. " How many people are on your crew?"

" Just me and Supaiku."

" What? But how can you have such a high bounty if you only have one crewmate?"

Patricia sighed watching the captain with so much intention of wanting her to join. " I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid I can't. This bar, my brother, this city is my life. I cannot just throw it all away to be a pirate."

Fletcher was disappointed. He really wanted Patricia to join his crew, but he accepted her. " This still _is _the age of dreams and pirates. Do you have a dream, Patricia."

" I do, I do. It's always been my dream to get to the All Blue."

" Wow. My last chef Christopher wanted to be there, too."

"I can't imagine a single cook who hasn't dreamed of it. Everyone from minnows to great whale's reside there. But I cannot leave this city, as I said, I cannot leave my brother behind. B-But another dream I had…I want to stop starvation in the world."

" Yay! That's a good dream! Feast! Feast!"

Patricia disappeared in a blur. She returned with a plate filled with meat. Fletcher laughed at the meat, stuck his fork inside it, and swallowed the whole thing whole in his mouth. As Fletcher ate Patricia giggled.

" What's your dream, Fletcher?"

" My dream?" Fletcher stopped eating. He had bits of meat on his mouth. " I want to find out who my real mother was. And I want to become King of the Pirates."

" Y'know, that's a nice dream." Patricia turned away from the counter and turned to her brother Patrick. Patrick was wearing apron and sweeping the floorboards. " Patrick, we need more plates!"

" I'm coming, I'm coming," Patrick growled at his sister. " Pain in my ass."

" I heard that!"

There was the sound of a bell. Fletcher turned around. Standing at the door was Supaiku. He wasn't too happy. _His captain _left him in a town he didn't even know—people were giving him dirty looks—he was a fishman in a _town that didn't welcome him_.

" Fletcher, wasting our money on food again?" Supaiku growled. " So this is where you've been hiding."

" You…"

Fletcher turned back to Patricia. All that happiness and resilience faded from her face. She was angry. Fletcher at first thought she was angry at him, jumped out behind the counter with a captain, flower-guard, silver shiny steel in her hands. She was heading straight for Supaiku. She was going to kill him!

Fletcher quickly tackled Patricia before she could do anything rash. He was more worried about her than Supaiku. If she attacked Supaiku he'd kill her. Fletcher pinned Patricia down, yelling at her face.

" What's wrong with you?! Why are you attacking my nakama?"

" He's a fishman!" Patricia shouted. When she said the word "fishman" there was bitterness in her throat. " He's a fishman…fishmen killed my parents."


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **A question to ask yourself this question is…what would you do if you were in Patricia's shoes?

Sitting at the table, Supaiku, Fletcher, and Patricia, felt like a dinner between Victor and Yokai. Victor was a bounty hunter, Yokai was a monk as well as an assassin, and if Yokai was left alone with Yokai he'd kill him, unless his daughter was there too. Patrick served drinks to everyone, Supaiku included. Supaiku had his cup on the table, hot, brownish brew that tasted of charcoal. Fletcher was slurping on Earl Grey. Patricia had a glass of hot milk, but her gaze was fixated on Supaiku. When Supaiku tried picking up the glass, his mighty fishmen muscles bulged and the glass shattered; it was made of metal.

" So, Patricia, why do you hate Supaiku?" Fletcher finally asked.

" It's not him I hate, well, I do hate him, but I hate every fishmen. It happened when I was seven. We were at a picnic, me, my brother, my mother and father. Our family protected something mysterious in this island. Something that people who were greedy tried to obtain. After years of keeping it around my father finally decided to get rid of it."

" What exactly was this you were protecting, Patricia?" Fletcher asked.

" A tree."

" A tree?" Supaiku laughed. Patricia scowled her eyebrows at him. " All this over a tree?"

" It's not just any tree," said Patricia, her voice was ice cold to Supaiku. " We call it the Gum Tree. The only thing that grow's on it are Devil Fruit's."

" Devil Fruit growing trees?" Supaiku said. " Why would you protect something like that? They're called Devil Fruit's because their the Devil's incantation. A plague on this earth. Just eating a Devil Fruit makes most mad with power."

" That's what my mother told my father," Patricia said, there was slight sadness in her voice. " Why didn't he listen to her? He was a drunkard and a slug of thinking. But he was still my dad. Those unholy monsters, they just hurt whoever they want, they don't care."

" But Supaiku isn't unholy," Fletcher said. " One time me and Sherry made fun of Catholics and Supaiku banged our heads together."

" Don't ask," Supaiku said bluntly. " Listen very carefully, Goldilocks's. I'm not the big bad wolf. Just because I can " eat you up" doesn't mean I will. I don't care who you are or what my "unholy" brothers did to you. I don't care if people like me or not. You think your life is bad because you've lost your whole family? I lost my family, too. So if you think I'm going to cry for you, forget it."

There was a moment of silence, which Supaiku and Patricia were glaring at each other. Their eyes reminded Fletcher of Dorobou and Christopher. When Christopher was alive, they weren't the best of friends. It wasn't like when Kaollu was mad, which was only when she saw Nautilus getting cheeky with _her man_.

Then Patrick came back taking the glasses away. He needed a broom and dustpan for Supaiku's shattered cup. Patrick tried taking Fletcher's empty glass, but Fletcher wouldn't let go.

" Mine."

Fletcher couldn't read the atmosphere. All he saw were two people not getting along: Supaiku and Patricia. Supaiku was thinking of unsheathing his swords. The same could be said about Patricia. Supaiki stands out of his chair, still gazing at Patricia, grabs Fletcher's collar and drags him out of his seat, Fletcher still holding his cup.

" We're going," said Supaiku.

" But free food," Fletcher whined.

" We're going!"

The last thing Patricia heard of Supaiku Meiko Fishman and Fletcher G. Perkman, Captain of the Animalistic Pirate's, the sound of her bell opening the door. No sooner did they leave did Patrick walk up to the table, he was cleaning a champagne glass.

" That scrawny one seemed kind of funny," Patrick smiled. " Wouldn't you agree, Patricia."

" Yeah…funny."

###

Supaiku and Fletcher were looking in a blacksmith's shop: _Mr. Brown's Iron Club. _Supaiku and Fletcher didn't have any money to buy a new boat so, so they decided it would be cheaper to buy rope and an axe. Supaiku wanted to keep his swords glistened—an axe was a woodsman's tool, they could chop down trees for the raft.

After five minutes of searching and some antics from Fletcher, which included putting a wooden house over his head (don't ask), tap-dancing on old doll figurines ( really, don't ask), and sticking nails into his brain (just forget about it), the shop owner finally came. He was a hunched, black, old man who wore brown tunic, brown trousers, and gold rope around his waist. His head was angular and his eyes were marble green.

" Welcome to Iron Club," the owner said. " What can I do you for…" The shop owner stopped when he looked at Supaiku. Before he could only see his back, but now he could see his face, sharp teeth and pale skin, and all. He was frightened. " Y-Your…"

" Yes, me and my idiot captain whom I'm currently in a platonic relationship with would like to buy some rope and axe. We're trying to make a raft that can float. Is there a problem?"

" No…I mean…No, no problem at all. I'm not worthy."

Supaiku was confused. He hasn't seen anyone act this way around him, well, except for the first time they met Christopher. The shop owner was kneeling to Supaiku and appraising him as if he were some kind of god. Supaiku was confused.

" What the hell was that about?"

" Hahaha!" Fletcher laughed." Hahaha!" Supaiku turned around. He saw Fletcher, idiot of captain, dangling from a long piece of rope. The idiot was swinging in circles on that rope and waving his arms thinking he could fly. " I'm flying Supaiku! I'm flying! Weeeeee!"

" Just because you lost your wind powers doesn't mean you need another substitution, idiot. Why am I the one watching you? Nautilus was the one who took a fatal wound for you."

Before Supaiku could say another word, the man shows up with rope and axe just like Supaiku requested. Supaiku was surprised at how fast he worked. It seemed like he was doing everything to get him out of his shop, Supaiku touched the man's hand and he flinched.

" Forgive me," the man quivered.

"What?" Supaiku shrugged. The man handed him the rope and axe. Supaiku tossed them to Fletcher. Fletcher _flew _from the rope, grabbed the equipment, and crashed on the floorboards. The equipment was safe. " So how much do we owe you for this."

" Please, I can't accept anything from you, humble fishman. Take anything you want."

Fishman? Why was he calling him a fishman as if it was a bad thing? Why would he care that he's a fishman? Supaiku tried reaching his hand out to the man, but he backed away, in fear. Supaiku couldn't take it, having been abused by that bitch Patricia and having to look after _his idiot _by himself.

" What is your problem?"

" Please forgive me."

###

Meanwhile, Patricia was whipping the counters of her restaurant. After Supaiku and Fletcher left, two people, a boyfriend with his girlfriend, came in and ordered take-in. While Patricia wiped the counters with a wash cloth her brother, Patrick, was taking out the garbage. Patricia couldn't stop thinking about Fletcher, how she thought he was a good kid but turned out to be hanging out with fishman, her sworn enemy.

Then the bell ringed.

A customer, woman, looker no older than twelve or fifteen stepped in. She was blond-haired, wearing a red and black striped jacket. Her ears were pierced and two small, glass earrings shined in the sunlight. Her blond hair was in pig-tails, and her eyes were covered by black sunglasses. Her skin so fair, her lips the color of blood, and a mole on her right cheek.

" Excuse me," said the girl, " but did a brown haired boy walk in her?"

" Restaurant's closed," Patricia said.

" I am not hungry. At least not hungry for anything you make. I just want to know…do you know a boy named Fletcher G. Perkman?"

" Never heard of him."

" Really? A friend of mine said he saw him go into this restaurant. Either your lying or he is. "

" Get out of my restaurant."

" Nautilus doesn't want to see Fletcher right now. He's just too polite to say so. But maybe when he sees how Fletcher moved on, he'll leave him and come crawling back to me—"

" Get out!"

Patricia unsheathed her flower-guard sword from its scabbard. She weaved the sword in the air, and moved in a dance like pattern, finally she thrust the sword towards the girl. When the sword was close to the girl, a giant fist made of sand pushed her back. The fist pushed her into the wall of her restaurant.

" How dare you yell at me. I am Gaia! Now tell me where is the boy—"

Patricia swinged with a flurry of slashes. The giant hand exploded. Patricia dashed towards Gaia and lunged her sword into Gaia's chest. Patricia twisted her sword, and ripped through Gaia's heart. However, instead of blood sand spurted out of Gaia. Patrica didn't do anything. Gaia was too powerful for her.

" Nice try."


	5. Chapter 5

The sound that Patricia stabbed exploded with sand. The sand moved in circles like a tornado. Patricia was sucked into the tornado and twirled around with it, then she was thrown right into the wall. Patricia's head throbbed. The rough sand was scratching her legs. Gaia, who was smiling at Patricia's pain, she transformed her right hand into a double-edged blade of sand. Patricia couldn't get one sword out when Gaia's weapon touched her neck.

" I'll make you a deal. Let's not let this fall to idiocy. You tell me where the brown haired boy is and I'll let you go. The only thing I'll do is carve my name all over your slim chest. If you don't comply, I'll decapitate you in your own restaurant. Then I'll sever each of your limbs and glue them all over your restaurant. Think of it as your cheap little funeral. Please, let's not let this lead us to transgression."

Patricia couldn't run. Sand was wrapped around her leg. The slightest twitch of her legs felt the same as hornet stingers. Patricia didn't want to die, but she also didn't want this evil girl to label her as if she was some product. Patricia may be a cook but she was also a swordsman. There was no greater shame than having a scar on her back.

" How do you sleep knowing that men with guns are outside your door? My name is Patricia. "

" Patricia. What a nice name? Do you have a last name?"

" I do."

" What is it?"

" I'll never tell you, pirate, nor will you touch me with your sand or your unruly hair."

Gaia frozen when she mentioned her hair. Gaia was very fond of her hair. It was long because she hasn't cut it since the day she met Nautilus. And when she is reunited with Nautilus, she wants him to remember her by her hair. Gaia transformed her other hand into a double-edged sword. Patricia, trapped in the wall like a chrysalis, couldn't do anything from stopping Gaia from decapitating her.

" You should've played the game, Patricia. You should have told me where the boy who could lead me to Nautilus was. Now, you die—"

Gaia forget him: the brother. Patrick rushed out from the kitchen and smacked Gaia through the head with a tonfa. On the inside she was an insane, evil girl. But on the outside her body was soft like sand. Patrick's tonfa delved into her hair, cutting her in half like a sword through a human's body. Without Gaia consciously trapping Patricia in sand, Patricia was freed. But Patrick kept whacking the sand to make sure Gaia couldn't rise again.

" Nobody threatens my sister!" Patrick shouted. " Nobody messes with our family!"

Patrick was on his tenth smack when a giant fist burst out of the sand. The sand swarmed around Patrick like a hive of angry bees. Patrick screamed his head off as the buzzing of bee's, which he was allergic too—one sting was lethal to him—kept buzzing in his ears. Then a giant hand squeezed Patrick as Gaia slowly raised from the pile, but she wasn't herself. Gaia had become much bigger, with the muscles of a construction worker, and eerie scarlet eyes glowed from her eye sockets. Gaia was enraged.

" How dare you touch me with your filthy weapon!" Gaia dropped Patrick and caught him by his arms. Patrick could feel her fingers cocked around him, and her palms squishing against his bones. " Don't feel bad about dying to your queen. In the bee hive the male's always go off to work while the queen feeds the baby's. What I'm trying to tell you is, you stung your last hornet—"

Patricia appeared with tremendous speed and cut through the arms of the golem; Gaia. The cut was fast, but Gaia cried in her highest shriek of agony. Sand left her wounds like a swarm of bees. Gaia sobered enough from the pain to see Patricia holding her brother Patrick and glaring at her.

" DON'T…TOUCH…MY…BROTHER!"

Gaia had to admit one thing about Patricia—she thought like a demon, like Gaia. Thinking about how she could have a worthy foe, someone who she could never beat, Gaia laughed. Like seeds under the ground her arms regrew. Gaia twirled both her hands around in circles, moving in dance-like movements prodigiously to mock Patricia, and banged both her fists into the ground.

" Putrid human! Sand Sand Wicker Man!"

The first thing Gaia saw her hundreds of what she first saw as ants moving through the floor. But the sand raised off the ground transforming into two pairs of legs. The legs grew into a body. The body grew arms. Then a block was formed for a head. A door of sand was made for the wicker mans' stomach. It opened up and, like a vacuum, sucked Patricia and Patrick inside. Patricia and Patrick were trapped. Inside the Wicker Man were faces of people, some whom Gaia had killed, surrounding them. Outside, Gaia flicked open a cigarette lighter. Eerie blue flames burned from the lighter. Normal flames wouldn't spread on sand, but Gaia's flames consumed sand, and humans. Gaia laughed thinking about how Patricia and Patrick would be burned alive.

" And you, my little drone's, are to be sacrificed to the Wicker Man."

Gaia tossed her cigarette lighter into the Wicker Man. The flames spread first to his legs; the sand turning black and the Wicker Man following. Then the flames spread into his arms; the flames burning the outside of Patricia and Patrick's cage. And finally the head of the Wicker Man exploded! Gaia laughed at the suffering of Patrick and Patricia, and of the patronage of those who invited him.

"Such a silly superstition—"

Patricia did not burn. She wasn't even in the Wicker Man when Gaia let it burn. Patricia appeared over Gaia and sliced her right arm off. Patricia was faster with her sword than any swordsman Gaia met. And her blade just went through her like a knife downward into a cat's intestines. Patricia tried slicing Gaia's other hand off, but a large trident, one she got the idea from Nautilus, emerged from her stomach and went straight into Patricia's stomach. Patricia was far away from Gaia, so the blade's diameter was only partial in.

" Fool!" Sand swirled inside Gaia's open wound. She quickly created a new hand. " You dare harm me? I am a goddess—"

Patricia was couldn't move her hands. She dropped her sword. Gaia smiled. Gaia brushed her left hand against Patricia's ebony hair. Gaia wanted to do one last thing for her before she transformed her hand into a spear. Gaia quickly thrusted her hand into Patricia's stomach when Patricia disappeared! Patricia just vanished into smoke.


	6. Chapter 6

Patricia disappearing into smoke baffled Gaia for a few seconds. Then she appears behind Gaia and stabs her sword through her chest. With a single thrust, and a single twist, Gaia is screaming as loud as she can. Patricia quickly pulled her sword out while Gaia was too busy screaming. Patricia had little time, she swinged her sword upwards to decapitate Gaia, but claws made out of sand came out of Gaia's neck and scratched her right arm. Three scratch wounds open out of Patricia's arm as trickles of blood poured out. Patricia could then hear Gaia's manically laughter. Gaia turned to Patricia and lifted up her clothes showing the wound in her stomach. Sand moved towards the wound and closed together—Gaia's wound was completely healed.

" Sand Sand Meister!" Gaia called raising her left hand up.

From Gaia's palm a small sand ball was fire out. The ball exploded when it touched the ground. At first it was nothing but a pile of sand. Then the sand started to swirl around, transforming into a tornado of sand just like before, until something walked out of the tornado. A man. The man was molded completely out of sand, with his head looked like it covered in a fedora hat and an ink-blotted mask. Those grotesquely ugly eyes were staring at Patricia.

" Sand Sand Weapon!"

Gaia raised her hand up and fired another ball of sand. This one fired into the ground just like the other one where something came out. This one wasn't made of sand. It was a katana. It has a much more distinctive appearance sporting a western-looking red and black hand guard and a traditional yellow and red hilt-wrapping flanked by golden-colored plates on the hilt, which ends in a very ornate, carved pommel. The lacquered sheath is red. The sand figure picked up the katana. It squeezed the handle with both hands preparing to attack.

" Kill this country bumpkin."

Before the sand man charged at Patricia he needed to test his katana out, and he did it by slashing the metal against the restaurant floor. Sparks skidded out of the blade. It was good to use.

The sand man held the katana with both hands as he charged at Patricia. The way he moved was the same as an expert swordsman. He attacked Patricia with a flurry of attacks, but each one she blocked with her own katana. Sparks skidded off both their swords, Patricia finally found an opening to do a roundhouse kick on the side of the sandman's head. The sand man's head smashed into pieces. Patricia had won, or she thought she won until the head just regrew.

Patricia and the sand man continued their onslaught of attacks. The sand man repeatedly swinged his sword downward as Patricia swinged her sword upward. Patricia was losing strength. Her knees bent backwards as the sand man kept swinging at her throat, which she blocked. Suddenly another Patricia appeared on the far right.

" _She's obviously eaten a Devil Fruit of some sort," _Gaia thought, while she assessed the situation. "_The question is which one? Does her fruit allow her to teleport or does it allow her to multiply her body. It's too bad she pissed me off; she could have been a very valuable asset." _

The Patricia cowering behind her sword on the ground was gone. The Patricia on her feet, who moved like the wind itself, jabbed the sand man multiple times in its torso with tremendous speed. Patricia made multiple holes in the sand man, but with every jab she made the wounds just refilled.

Patricia jumped back just before the sand man could slice a cross-like wound through her chest. Patricia needed to concentrate. The sand man wouldn't react until she was close to it. Patricia concentrated on her breathing, taking a deep breath in and out. As she breathed she thought about the importance of life—law, maintain good composure, blending in, healthy eating, cooking, believing in yourself—but the most important thing she thought about was her family. Can she be as good of a person as her father and mother? Will her brother grow up to be smart, strong, successful, and married? All those things seemed silly for now, for there was a sand man she needed to beat. She tightened the hilt as much as she can.

The sand person dropped his sword. Gaia fired a new ball of sand from her palm and it landed in the sand person's hands. A scepter appeared first in his arms, but the scepter transformed into a giant axe the sand man was able to handle with ease. The sand man raised the axe over his head and swing it at Patricia! Only Patricia wasn't where she was before. Patricia, however, she was circling around him in a blur. The blur looks like there were dozens of Patricia's. It was either her fruit that could "multiply" her body or something else. The sand man was tremulous. In a flash, all of the Patricia's raised their swords up together in unison, and sliced the sand man together. In a flash the sand man's body parts exploded into dust and Patricia was weak. So weak she leaned on her sword to support her body.

" _This girl is strong," _Patricia thought panting as deeply as she could. " _It takes every ounce of my strength just to keep up with her sand people. My vehemence has run out. I have no choice. I need to escape." _

Patricia only had one solution on how she was going to escape Gaia. She just hoped the blonde was as dull as she looked. Patricia dashed towards Gaia with tremendous speed; about all the power she could muster. Gaia creased a wall of sand to defend herself. It was just as Patricia predicted. She quickly grabbed Gaia's red and black katana and rolled out of the way. She quickly leaped to her feet and jumped out her own windows. Gaia was taken completely by surprised. Gaia slowly walked to the window. Outside she saw Patricia escaping through the town with her brother Patrick. The idiocy of them was so gladdening Gaia smiled.

" Fool. You'll lead me right to the brown haired boy."


	7. Chapter 7

Supaiku and Fletcher were about to leave port. They had everything they needed—wood, rope, axe, duffel bags, matches, food supplies-now all they needed to do was get a boat. Supaiku asked everyone if they knew where the nearest carpenter was, but for some reason everyone seemed to be afraid of him. He couldn't get anything out of them. Supaiku took one last look at the town. Besides Patricia, and having to search for Fletcher, it was nice that people were afraid of him. Supaiku could stay here. He could have people do whatever he wanted them to do.

" Y'know, Fletcher, I think I might actually miss this place," Supaiku said.

" Really?" Fletcher asked.

" No. There's nothing important about this town. No talking floating monolith's, no talking animals, no Devil Fruit's, not even any rare amulet's are on this island."

" I love amulet's. Especially the one's flipped over and covered in cheese."

" That's an omelette, idiot."

Supaiku took one step on the port. A splinter went through his foot. Supaiku grimaced at first. When he lifted his foot he saw a little twinkle of blood trickling out of him. Supaiku plucked the splinter out of his foot. Supaiku didn't know why but the splinter reminded him of the smiling face of his mother. The only woman he ever loved, other than Robin. His poor human mother…Supaiku crushed the splinter in his fingers.

" Fletcher, can I tell you something."

" Huh?" Fletcher stopped running around on the port and turned to Supaiku. " What is it, Supaiku?"

" I know I don't tell you this enough, but I'm happy I was able to come with you. If it weren't for you I don't know where I might be today. As for our crewmates who are lost at sea, I can only give them my deepest condolences. But I don't care who we are with as long as I can sail with you, friend."

" Did you just call me your friend, Supaiku?"

" I don't know what you're talking about. Let's get a move on, loser—"

" Wait!"

Supaiku and Fletcher turn around at the sound of the female voice. They see Patricia limping towards them. She was bleeding with a head wound as she carried her brother Patrick to the port. She was no longer the pinnacle figure Fletcher saw in the alleyway. She looks like she has something urgent to say.

" Patricia?" Fletcher blinked. " What are you doing out here—"

" You have to help us!" Patricia shouted. " A crazy girl is after us!"

" What crazy girl?" Supaiku said.

" I don't know. But she's after me because of you."

" Me?" Fletcher acted offended, he pressed his fingers to his chest. " What did I do?"

" I don't know. She wanted me to hand you over to her because of someone you know, but I couldn't. I wouldn't. My parents were noble warriors. Warriors, who fought fair, never lied to anyone, and did whatever they were told because it was their noble duties. That's the kind of person my brother wants to be."

" Pfffttt!" Supaiku stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry on the ground. " Please."

" What is that, fishman?!" Patricia exclaimed. " My parents were noble warriors of the sea. They had this saying. They said "we are only human" and they told that to my brother and I because humans are vulnerable, but that doesn't mean we aren't strong . We are forthright, cunning, and courageous unlike you cowardice fishmen who hide in the sea."

" Let me tell you something. That phrase, " we are only human", that's a terrible saying. It's only something you say when you don't want to admit you're too afraid to admit you're afraid. You fear me; good. Instead of thinking that you are human, think about how you're not human. What is being human anyways. Is it doing the right thing? Is it following your primary instincts. Is it worshipping God because he'll transcend you into his domain? Let me lay it out straight, Red. Mankind hates you. Everyday someone wants _you _dead, nature wants you dead, even this God wants you dead. You can't rely on anyone. You can only survive—that's what the real testament is—to survive and making it through a brand new day—at the end of the day you can just stick your middle finger up and say " Country life, I love ya you son of a bitch!"

" No, you're wrong. You fishmen don't have any sense of decency. My family were so young and you just killed them. Their dead! They are all dead—"

Supaiku thrust his hand into Patricia's mouth. Patricia felt his cold scales rubbing against her mouth. She couldn't move. Supaiku was reaching for her crotch, then he reached for her belt. Supaiku noticed the katana on her belt and pulled it out. Supaiku recognized the katana. But it was impossible, since the person who welded it threw it into a chasm.

" Where did you get this?"

Suddenly a fishman jumped out of the sea. A black scale color everywhere except on his underbelly which was white. He had a large dorsal fin on his back and gills on the right side of its neck, but no gills on the left side. He wore green pants with blue swirls on his back. Attached to his waist was a holster with two swords hung in his waist. He swung his sword upward at Supaiku's neck, but Supaiku ducked down and swung his only sword at his legs. The fishman was cut.

The fishman's right leg was cut. He couldn't move his right leg. Supaiku heard a sound coming from the ocean. Dozens of fishmen leaped out of the ocean.

" _Are these the fishmen everyone is so afraid about_?" Supaiku thought. Dozens of fishman landed on the port. Some were carrying axes, others were carrying large zanbato's, and others were carrying swords. Supaiku narrowed his eyes back and forth looking at the fishmen. He smiled. " _I'll have to teach my brother's a lesson." _


	8. Chapter 8

Supaiku unsheathed the katana he took from Patricia. The blade was longer than his other sword. Supaiku pulled his other sword out of his katana. Supaiku only felt balanced when there was two swords in his hand. Supaiku awaited for the moment when the fishmen attack him, for when he could counter attack them, but the fishmen moved past Supaiku. They were all heading towards Fletcher and Patricia. This was a conundrum to Supaiku. Why would they care more about Fletcher than him? He injured one of them. The first fishman to reach Fletcher, a marbled rockfish, Fletcher easily overpowered him with his powerful strength and a roundhouse kick to the face. A Loach fishman swung his sword down at Fletcher, but Fletcher kicked him in the throat. When Arowana fishman charged at him, he jumped kicked the fishmen in his squishy face. Fletcher was a master martial artist. No matter how many fishmen Fletcher knocked down, they just got up and swarmed around him.

" There's nowhere to run, roc boy!" A fishman exclaimed punching Fletcher in his stomach. " Lady Gaia will pay us handsomely when we send her your head."

" Who's Lady Gaga?" Fletcher said completely nonchalantly.

" Gaia, not Gaga, you idiot!" The fishman yelled.

" That would be my lady."

Fletcher turned around. Supaiku, who was watching the fishmen, saw the fishmen kneel They worshipped the person behind Fletcher. He was a deity to them. He was a tall bipedal with purple skin, a long lizard tail sticking out his back, and red scar markings on his face. He has engorged muscle mass, sports several armor-like carapaces on his chest, shoulders, shins and head, procuring blade-like protrusions. His mouth is covered behind a vizier, four spikes extending from his cranium.

" I know you," Fletcher spoke as his memory's raced. He remembered the time Nautilus and him were in town and he attacked them. " You're that bone guy."

" Very perceptive of you," the dark figure said. " My name is Tarsus. Tarsus is a cluster of seven articulating bones in each foot situated between the lower end of tibia and fibula. The largest bone in the tarsus is the calcaneus. I am here for my lady Gaia. Come quietly with me and I promise you you'll live."

" But you can't be here," Fletcher said. " I saw you. Nautilus defeated you."

" Ha," Tarsus chuckled. " Nautilus could never beat me. He's not in the same league as me. Just like you." Tarsus's blade-like protrusion extended into a large sword connected to his arm. " I heard how degenerate you are now. How you lost those pesky little wind powers of yours, and now you're weak."

Fletcher didn't like how someone could call him weak. Fletcher G. Perkman was the next King of the Pirates. His rage got the better of him. Fletcher jumped up and kicked Tarsus in his head. Tarsus wasn't harmed by the blow. His bone sword sticked back into his hand as he punched Fletcher in the stomach, but Supaiku appeared. Supaiku grabbed Tarsus's armpits and raised him up. Supaiku was strong, but Tarsus was heavy. It took everything Supaiku had to lift him. Supaiku took a deep breath and threw him to his fishmen followers. Tarsus crashed on them.

Two fishmen appeared on the right and left side of Supaiku. Both of them were carrying two plain katana. They jumped over Supaiku and swung their katana downward. Supaiku caught the blades with his fingers and pushed the blades away, pushing the fishmen along with them.

" This is what happens when you don't listen to me, Fletcher, and when I only have one sword."

" But you don't have one sword, Supaiku. You have an axe, too."

" Good point."

Supaiku walked over to their bag and pulled an axe out. The axe is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber. As a weapon and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol, the axe could cut half as well as a sword. Supaiku raised his double bevelled, symmetrical blade out of the axe and looked at his reflection in the steel.

A Sea Bream fishman charged at Supaiku carrying a red zanbato. A zanbato was heavy even for a fishman. When the fishman was about to swing down Supaiku fell down and sliced two protrusions into his legs. The Sea Bream fishman lost his balance and fell down. Two more fishmen, a Pelican Eel fishman and an Orca fishman both carrying swords, charged at Supaiku. Supaiku raised his axe and his sword up deflecting the swords. Supaiku quickly kicked the Orca fishman away and span around. He raised his axe up as the Pelican Eel fishman swing his sword downward. The axe was sundered; cut in half by the sword. Supaiku stabbed his sword into the Pelican Eel fishman's shoulder blade.

They weren't very strong. Or Supaiku was just stronger than he used to be. The battle wasn't over yet. More fishmen crept up to Supaiku like a horde of zombies, swords, axes, and zanbato raised up, Supaiku turned to Fletcher.

" Fletcher, get away—"

Fletcher was gone. Supaiku was happy. He was happy because Fletcher was away from the fishman horde. Supaiku turned back to the fishmen, grabbed his sword with both hands like a samurai sword, and glared at them as they glared back at him.

" Move away!" A man shouted behind the fishmen. " I'll be the only one to fight this fishman."

All of the fishmen moved out of the way. Tarsus was the man who challenged Supaiku. He held both his hands out, unarmed, awaiting for Supaiku to make the first strike. Supaiku charged at Tarsus, where he was impaled by a large bone spike. Tarsus fired a bone spike. He fired a bone spike again. Three spikes in Supaiku's chest. Supaiku couldn't say a single word when he feel over. Supaiku could see the sky. He could see the seagulls flying over the town. Supaiku could see her. He could see a robin. Supaiku wanted to see her one last time. Robin. He wanted to hold her in her arms. That's what he thought seeing that glowing bird before he lost consciousness.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note I would like to thank BTolson23 for helping me make this chapter. **

Fletcher knew where he was. He was sitting in the middle of an alleyway. He just didn't know how he got there. One moment he was watching Supaiku fight and the next he was there. He got there so fast. That's when he sees Patricia standing in the alleyway.

" Well don't just sit there, Fletcher," Patricia smiled at Fletcher and rubbed her nose. "Get up."

Fletcher got back on his feet and flapped his arms up and down. Patricia giggled at Fletcher's silly nature, then she walked out of the alleyway. Fletcher followed her to the street. He walked on the road and saw an ocean—bright blue sea and boats sailing in the horizon.

" It's pretty…" Fletcher said looking with awe at the ocean. " Where are we?"

" On the other side of the island," Patricia said, she walked beside Fletcher. " I brought you here because I thought you'd be safe. Many strange things are happening on this island, Fletcher, but just know that I don't blame you for any of them. This Gaia, she's just one crazy lady. And when it comes to crazy people you can't trust anything they say—"

Fletcher was gone. Patricia looked both ways for Fletcher but he just disappeared. She found it very rude of him. If he wanted to leave all he had to was say something.

" I'm able to move like the shadows. I wonder how he moves so stealth? But why did he leave me? Do I seem like a crazy person to him?"

Patricia could feel something moving under her feet. It was an eerie vibe. Then something moved out from underneath the ground. Suddenly something jumped out of the ground and knocked Patricia off her feet. She landed on her tush hard and sprained her buttocks. The man who appeared was a butler. His eyes were red with short, plum hair. The fringes of his hair were arranged inconsistently; swept to the left. He dressed in white, long-sleeved shirt, brown vest, and a black trouser with black-grey ribbon tied around his neck. He seemed quiet and reticent.

" AHHHHHHH!" Patricia screamed. The man incoherently whistled and rubbed his hair.

" My name is Brick. I was once a butler of the great Silva. But I was defeated by some boy named Nautilus O Shawn. He was audacious. He showed me mercy in combat. When he defeated me he just let me go. Unforgivable. That's why I followed him for a rematch. I met this lady, Gaia, who was also searching for Nautilus. The only reason I'm helping her find him is so I can fight him myself."

Patricia and Brick stared at each other, not flinching, not blinking. Patricia managed to get back on her feet and put her hands on her hips.

" Are we gonna do anything or are we just gonna stare at each other like long lost lovers?" She asked, sighing. " And I was hoping me and my brother Patrick could just have a normal family day."

" You make the first move," Brick replied. " If you, however, want me to start than fine, I will start." A sword emerged from the ground. His sword was a traditional nodachi, a longsword. Its hilt wrapped in a dark wrapping outlining a series of rhombs on it, ends in a light pommel and has a similarly light, mildly prominent fuchi, a metal disk separating the hilt from the hand guard. The blade was red. The only part that wasn't red was the edge of the blade. He darted forward, swiping at Patricia's legs. Patricia brought her flower-guard katana up quickly, blocking the attack. As soon as the attack was finished, Brick jumped back, bringing his sword up in front of his face.

" Does your sword have a name?" Patricia asked.

" Name? You don't name swords." Brick replied. " Swords are objects for the user, tools if you will. Besides, naming them is just childish."

" That's too bad. Swords with names are more powerful than swords without them. I decided to name my sword Archenemy. "

" Archenemy. That does sound like a powerful name, but swords are meaningless to have names because they can never last forever. Your sword seems so mild. I'll let you slice me anywhere on my body. My shoulder, my chest, you can even kill me with one shot if you so wish."

Patricia didn't even need to think about it. She stepped forward with surprising quickness, and plunged Archenemy straight through Brick's heard, the end of the blade emerging out of Brick's back. But Brick just stood there, a bored expression on his face. Patricia looked at where Archenemy struck and noticed no blood and no injury whatsoever.

" What?" She took the sword out and whipped it sideways, right through Brick's chest. It just phased through, passing through the flesh and muscles, not hurting Brick in the slightest. " YOU!" Patricia stabbed her sword into Brick's head, but it phased right through.

Brick grinned. " Haven't you ever heard of Devil Fruits? I ate the Yurei Yurei Fruit. It's just as I said to Mr. O Shawn. My entire body can go through walls. And I've trained to levitate off solid objects and pass through moving objects. Face it, you can't defeat me."

Patricia was dazed by this. She left herself open for an attack. Brick pierced her shoulder, cutting through the flesh. Brick pulled his sword out from Patricia's shoulder and cut downwards aiming for her chest. Patricia quickly blocked with Archenemy. Swinging Archenemy, her sword just passed through Brick, threw his head back and laughed out loud.

" Are you hard of hearing? You cannot harm me with that little thing. You can only except your fate. Yurei Yurei Sashimi Ranch!" Brick cut upwards with his sword. Patricia blocked the sword, but she was thrown back by the force. She fell through a small house, straight inside. She rolled out of the house, breathing, before coughing up blood.


	10. Chapter 10

Patricia coughed groggily, picking herself off the floor. She felt pain in her ribcage. Archenemy fell from her grasp, clattering across the ground. Patricia felt cold. She felt cold fingers rubbing her hair. They were Brick's. Brick was standing above her. He pointed his sword straight over Patricia's heart, the point glinting ominously. Quickly, brick dropped to his knees, plunging his sword straight through Patricia's heart!

Patricia wasn't there anymore.

" W-What!" Brick exclaimed, looking at the space Patricia was before. " How…"

" Over here,tiger."

Brick whirled around to see Patricia standing calmly a few meters away, Archenemy in her hands. She chuckled t Brick, who was growling at her.

" You! How can you be—how did you get there so fast!"

" You missed me, missed me, now you have to kiss me." Patricia bellowed swinging her sword with inhuman speed.

Before Brick could process what happened, his chest split open. Blood poured from the wound. He fell to one knee. " How did you…no…this isn't possible." Something suddenly clicked inside Brick's brain. " Oh shit…you don't mean…he's dead?"

Patricia stood up straight, and pointed her sword straight at Brick. " My name is PatriciaTsuyoi, and I have eaten the Supi Supi Fruit, meaning I am fast—very fast—faster than the wind."

" B-But that fruit was eaten by a defective Marine named Gecko. I know because I fought him after I fought Nautilus. He couldn't be dead."

" I don't know who this Gecko guy is, but he is dead. Devil Fruit's don't stay with people forever. When their previous users die the fruit rolls out different color and different shape. I just happen to stumble on it."

Brick stared in shock at Patricia. He hadn't been hurt since he fought Nautilus. One year later…he almost forgot what it felt like. His blood ran down his chest, dripping to the floor.

" You may be some sort of freaky ghost," Patricia said, " but I can move faster than you can react. We fight on equal terms."

Brick stood up, ripping his butler vest off as it was already cut in two. Blood tricked across his chest in a single vertex. " The only thing you need to fight, is the right kind of momentum."

Brick dashed towards Patrica swinging his sword at her chest. Patricia immediately disappeared in a whiff of smoke, and reappeared behind Brick. Brick growled, before swinging his elbow behind him, and was following with a slash from his longsword.

" You have momentum, but you're too slow." Patricia grinned, throwing Archenemy in the air, and catching it as it fell. She looked directly at Brick. " Let me show you a couple of tricks, Brick**. **Supi Supi Chanpuru!"

Patricia disappeared again. " Where are you?" Brick called out. Patricia thought she was being stealth, but Brick could hear her footsteps. Brick swung around, bringing his sword to block the incoming attack. Archenmy hit his longsword, sparks flying off. Patricia was standing next to him with a wide smile on her face.

" You have good reflexes." She commented. Brick swung the longsword, but Patricia zipped to the left. She reappeared instantly. Brick managed to bring up his sword to stop the blow, but not before the tip of Archenemy cut his cheek.

Brick pushed Patricia forwards, catching Patricia by surprise. Patricia stumbled back, and Brick swiped his sword low, cutting into both her ankles. Patricia cried out in pain as blood seeped out of the wound, tripping over in the process. Patricia's ankles were injured, but not so she couldn't walk.

" I fuckin' hate this town!" Brick exclaimed, he kicked Patricia in her ribs making her roll slightly. " If you can run very fast why couldn't you just run away!" Brick put his sword against Patricia's neck. " God I wish I had a sister like you."

Brick raised his sword up and swung it down. As the blade hit into Patricia's neck, Patricia disappeared. She moved behind Brick. Brick seemed to float upwards as he faced Patricia, but Patricia disappeared yet again. She appeared near the ocean in front of Brick. Patricia zoomed towards Brick pointing her sword at him. Archenemy went straight through his chest and out the other end. Brick choked, blood spewing from his mouth. Patricia pulled her sword out of his chest and caught him as he fell into her arms—one big _baby _for Patricia.

" You know what, you're not such a bad guy after all."

###

Fletcher was running through the street. He was looking for Gaia. He wanted to fight her! He thought if he quarreled against her and won maybe she would leave Nautilus alone. Fletcher turned a corner and bumped into Patrick.

" Hey, jerk, why don't you watch where you're—Fletcher!" Patrick didn't realize he bumped into Fletcher until he opened his eyes. Patrick then helped Fletcher to his feet. " What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in hiding."

" I know," Fletcher replied nonchalantly.

" Then why are you here?" Patrick shouted.

" I couldn't just run from a fight—If someone wants to fight me than I'll fight them. I have the reputation of the Pirate King to think about."

" How coy," a voice said snidely. Fletcher and Patrick look up and see Gaia sitting on the roof of someone's home. She was smiling at them. Her smile was unpleasant with two sharp teeth in the middle. " How un-covet of you. What a predicament. Here I am looking for you, and you'll run right to me. Is this coincidence, or are you back on the case? If so, goody-goody."

Patrick couldn't stand the way Gaia kept messing into his and his sister's life. Patrick pulled out two tonfa's from his grey shorts. Patrick swung his tonfa's around and smacked one against the floor. The tonfa was so powerful it broke through the concrete.

" Get away from him, witch!" Patrick exclaimed. But when he mentioned that word to Gaia she laughed manically.

"People don't always tell you what they are thinking. They just see to it that you don't advance in life. On a similar note I must confess to you, I'm giving very serious thought... to eating your sister. Tell me, Patricia's brother, do you believe a girl could become obsessed with a woman from a single encounter? Could she daily feel a stab of hunger for her and find nourishment in the very sight of her? I think so. But would she see through the bars of her plight and ache for her—"

" Enough!"


	11. Chapter 11

Patrick wanted to kill Gaia. He wanted to kill her so bad for what she did to him and his sister. She was a monster. Patrick dropped his tonfa's and pulled out a revolver. He quickly pointed his revolver at Gaia and fired. The bullet went straight through her head. The last thing Patrick saw was her smiling face before her whole body turned into sand. The sand moved to the ground and reformed into Gaia.

" Nice try, loser. A loser like you doesn't have any chance against me."

Patrick was incessant. No matter how many times she did it he couldn't get use to her reforming like that. She used her powers to grow a giant hand made out of sand. She extends the hand flicking Patrick in the face. Patrick was sent to the wall of a building.

" Can you still move, loser." A large hole was made in the wall. Gaia awaited the moment where Patrick would limp out of the building. She was prepared to thrash him. Time went by and eventually Gaia became bored." Whatever. You're now mine, Perkman—"

Gaia froze. Her head turned to the giant hole in the wall. Patrick dashed out of the building. Patrick was fast. He appeared and swung his tonfa's at her arms. Her arms shattered with sand dripping from her arms. Gaia

" _How is it possible he can move so fast?" _

Patrick licked his lips. Bitter and salty. Patrick backed away from Gaia. He thrusts his tonfa's. They opened up. The inside of the tonfa's started to glow as small yellow balls of light came out.

"Todorokasu!"

A very fast and concentrated laser-like beam was fired from the tonfa's, which barreled down and pierced through Gaia. Gaia exploded into sand. The sand rained down over Patrick as he checked on Fletcher.

" Are you okay, Fletcher?"

" That was AWESOME!" Fletcher awed Patrick's stellar move. " How did you do that?"

" I used my Tonfa Blasters. While my tonfa's appear normal, they each can contain three shots. If you'll look closely you'll see the gun triggers on their handles."

" Can I try them?"

" No. I only have two shots left in them and the bullets are very expensive."

" Can I hold them. Please. Please. Please."

" Ugh. How can I say no to such a cute face?"

Patrick handed his tonfa's to Fletcher. Fletcher hugged the tonfa's like a teddy bear. Then he twirled them around like baton's and caught them in his hand. It was fun. It was fun until he heard the manically sound of laughter. It was Gaia's voice he heard: cold, violent, and narcissist.

"There are three things I refuse to tolerate: cowardice, bad haircuts, and military insurrection. And it is unfortunate that our friend Fletcher possesses all three of ! I lied about letting you live, Perkman. The moment I get my hands on you…" Gaia reformed far away from Fletcher. Her hands transformed into two giant sandy claws. She scratched them together, laughing manically. " I'll rip you apart!"

Gaia charged at Fletcher. She moved with the speed of Achilles's, before his heel was stabbed. She laughed all the way; before she could cut Fletcher's head off, Patrick appeared behind her and putting his arms over her shoulders by going under the arm pits.

" Fletcher, be quick. Use my tonfa's and fire at Gaia."

" Okay."

Fletcher raised Patrick's tonfa's up. A very fast and concentrated laser-like beam was fired from the tonfa's. The beam exploded clouding Patrick and Gaia. In the cloud of smoke he saw one shadow figure standing and one shadow figure lying on the ground. The smoke cleared, and Patrick was standing holding his right hand.

" We did it, Fletcher—"

" There's still a survivor!"

Fletcher fired the last beams from Patrick's tonfa's. The blasters exploded around Patrick. In the aftermath Patrick was very upset. His arm and head was covered in smudge. Patrick was so mad—if his heart was an inferno—he ran at Fletcher and grabbed his neck.

" What the hell is wrong with you?" Patrick shouted. His face looked as angry as a cat that was splashed with water.

" What did I do?" Fletcher asked nonchalantly.

" You just tried to kill me you bastard!" Patrick without thinking punched Fletcher in his face. Once. Twice. Three times in total. " Take advantage of my kindness, will ya? Well I won't let that sink—"

" Say that again."

" Take advantage of my kindness—"

" There."

" **_Now you asked for it, you little shit! Take advantage of my kindness, will ya_**!"

" Your voice…it sounds just like Avalon's." ]

" Huh? Who's Avalon?"

" She was my ship's shipwright. She also liked to dress up like a boy. Somehow you remind me of her. She was a little tough on me, and almost everyone on the crew, but she also was also very nice. It's my duty as a captain to find her."

Patrick couldn't believe his ears. This was coming from the boy who couldn't navigate North. Patrick smiled at Fletcher. He was a great guy. A guy he would want as a friend. Patrick raised a hand for Fletcher…a bullet was fired through his brain.

" Patrick!"

Patrick fell to the ground. His death was painless. All that happiness, all those wonderful moments, were ruined by a small caliber bullet. Fletcher caught him before he hit the ground. What monster could do this to him? Fletcher sees Gaia, half-formed with her feet missing and her right hand transformed into a giant gun.

" How dare you hurt my friend!" Fletcher yelled, his hands clutched on Patrick's back as he held him tightly.

" Don't look at me," Gaia laughed. " I wasn't aiming for him. I was aiming for you. If you just moved out of the way he would still be alive. If you're so troubled by this why don't you just kill yourself and call it even."

" No pirate captain can do that. I guess now you wish you would've fed the rest of me to the dogs."

" No, Perkman, I much prefer you the way you are. I came halfway around the world to watch you run, Perkman. Let me run, eh? If you can't be polite to our guests, you have to sit at the kiddies' table. Have you met my friend Tarsus?"

" Yes."

" Face to face, so to speak?"

" Face to face."

" Attractive, isn't he. Perkman, there's nothing I'd love more in the world than to chat with you. Unfortunately, you've caught me at an awkward moment. Please forgive me."

Gaia formed her legs from scratch. Legs. Beautiful legs. Gaia admired her legs for a brief moment until Fletcher charged at her and punched her in the face. His fist covered her left eye. Fletcher's hand becomes stuck in her face as her face hardens. Gaia found him ensnared. She transformed her right hand into a double-edged sword; she was going to decapitate him.


	12. Chapter 12

Meanwhile, Tarsus was striding through the streets of Oakland with his fishmen followers. The fishmen walking among humans was anarchy. At least in Oakland. There were some towns and buildings where humans and fishmen could get along, but the fishmen of this port were wreaking havoc, destroying people's houses with their weapons and their fists of iron. The fishmen pushed innocent people down, destroying their baskets, carts, and breaking the concrete with their knuckles. One fishman, a sawshark fishman, raised one villager, Asian, grabbed him by his throat and raised him off the ground.

" Hey, you! Give me all your beli."

" But what about the beli I gave you last time? How am I supposed to make profit if you keep stealing all my stuff. I'm going broke here."

" That's the main idea. Hehehe."

While the fishmen were enjoying their liberty, Tarsus fired large spikes from his hands. The spikes soared everywhere in the sky. The villager's and fishmen alike ran away as the spikes fell into the ground. It was obscene. Tarsus relished the power he had. He noticed a villager who bumped into his bone apogee.

" You dare oppose me?" Tarsus threatened.

" No," the villager cried with plea. " I just bumped into you by accident. I swear!"

" Oh, I believe you." Tarsus grabbed the poor villager by his neck and raised him to his vizier. The villager cried when he saw those cold eyes staring at him. " I believe you."

Tarsus raised his right hand up about to stab his bone sword into his stomach, when suddenly a small smoke ball hit him in the face. Tarsus dropped the villager. He wanted to know what bastard threw it at him. It made him so angry he wanted to scream.

" Whoever threw that at me is DEAD meat!"

Tarsus heard the sound of footsteps behind him. Tarsus turned around, but he was smacked over and over again by long salty seaweed. Tarsus couldn't see who it was that smacked him. All he knew was from the size of his shadow that person was predominantly a teenager.

" Have some seaweed!" The person shouted. " It's salty! It's delicious! It's yummy, yummy, yummy, YA!"

Tarsus was smacked to the ground by the mysterious stranger. Tarsus felt degraded. If someone was going to kill him than they should kill him, and not let him live to be embarrassed by his fishmen followers. Before he could get up, he saw a ballerina jumping over him. Tarsus recognized her. Her glossy brunette hair and voluptuous body didn't lie. She was Lady Lust—Lucita Redford, the defective Sinful Pirate. She once dove a traditional red kimono, had green kosode on her left shoulder. Her hair was long, her lips had bright red lipstick, and her eyes were bright red. Lucita changed her attire, she still had her features of red eyes and long black hair, but now she shinned with a red ballerina uniform and a swan head around her waist. Her hair covered her right eye and she wore purple lipstick. Lucita landed gracefully on her feet as Tarsus got back on his feet.

" Hey, you, were you looking up my tutu?"

" What? Me, no way." Tarsus shaked his head to think straighter. His battalion of scaly fishmen were still behind him. Puffing his chest out, acting like this place was his turf; he then raised his hand up and pointed at Lucita. " Men, attack her!"

" On it, boss!"

Two fishmen charged at Lucita carrying swords. Before they can hurt her she winked at them. Two heart smoke clouds come out of her eyes and consume the two fishmen. A warm fuzzy feeling built up inside of them. They suddenly dropped their weapons and made kissing gestures towards Lucita. Lucita smiles at them, but with tremendous speed she kicks both of them between their legs. Dozens of small hearts came out of her legs. The fishmen covered their crotches before they passed out.

" What did you do to my soldiers, wench?"

" Fufu, I just gave them a little bit of my Devil Fruit, the Aiyoku Aiyoku fruit. I can expel pheromones that can erase people's memories. Watch."

She waved her hands manipulating the pressure in Tarsus and his fishmen's heads. Tarsus stumbled back. The last few minutes blurred together. He had had to know how and why she was fighting.

" What did you do to my soldiers, wench?"

" Fufu, glad you asked. A bit of my Devil Fruit: the Lust Lust fruit. I can expel pheromones that can erase people's memories. Watch."

Again she waved her hands at Tarsus and his fishmen followers. Tarsus dodged to the side fearing the worse. He didn't know what she did, but she had to have some trick up her sleeve or else why would she want to fight him.

" What did you do to my soldiers, wench?"

" Never gets old. Let's just say I can do lots of things with my powers. I can explode people's fingers, I can make you live your greatest dreams and worst nightmares. Let's start with the dreams."

Lucita swiped her hand through Tarsus's midsection. Suddenly, a harem of beautiful girls in bunny outfits showed up. The bunny girls rubbed their hands against the fishmen, who despite being grotesque hybrid creatures still had men urges. They were enticed by them—everyone except for Tarsus. He was too focused on Lady Lust to care.

" And now I'm going to make you live your nightmares."

Lucita swayed her arms back and forth, all of the fishmen shuddered fearing what monstrosity she would create, however, the exact thing happened. Beautiful women in bunny suits showed up and rubbed themselves into the fishmen.

" How's this a nightmare!" Tarsus shouted.

" One of those girls wasn't cute," Lucita replied. " Can you guess which one?"

" Is this your idea of fighting?"

" Me, fight? Oh no. I'm a lover not a fighter? But you will be fighting someone. He's my cutie pie."

Lucita stepped out of the way. Tarsus recognized the shadowy figure. He was Toad Prince Christopher; chef of the Animalistic Pirates and Fletcher G. Perkman. He remembered from his wanted poster there was a scar that went from neck to upper thigh, but it was missing. He was also much more muscular than his last poster. He no longer had that rugged face, and had handsome face and chiselled lips. He is short, spiky lilac hair and a black eye patch covering his left with with a defined vertical scar on his right jaw line. Open-collared, one-sleeve version of a waistcoat, which is instead tucked in and zipped. The sleeve covers Christopher's left arm, a tattoo of a swan covers his left arm as well as his entire right arm consequently exposed. He was wearing a scarf and retains the same lower clothing. Lucita appeared behind Christopher and licked his right ear. The taste of her saliva made him feel pinnacle.

" Do it for me, my love."


	13. Chapter 13

Tarsus waved his hands commanding his army of fishmen soldier. They were scared at first. There was something about Christopher's only eyes that scared them. Four of the fishmen swarmed around Christopher. Sword rose up, they could see their reflections in the blades. Christopher however closed his eyes and ignored them. His technique, one Lucita taught him when he was a prisoner, involved Christopher speeding up the blood flow in all body parts in order to provide him with more oxygen and nutrients. This makes him much faster and more powerful. The technique no longer uses even more oxygen and energy after experiencing the paralysis after prolong use.

" I've thought of a way to fight with all my strength so I won't lose to anybody! So I won't lose to anybody you won't be able to catch up with me anymore. All of my techniques have evolved by one step."

" Attack!"

The fishmen attack Christopher. He unsheathes his sword as flames surround it. When he slashes his sword at them their swords metal and flames come out of their wounds. The four fishmen collapse from Christopher's attack. There was murmur about this among the rest of the fishmen. All of the fishmen are scared of Christopher's eyes.

" Run away!"

the fishmen try to run away. They think of jumping back into the sea. However, one fishman is impaled by a giant bone spike. Tarsus appears before them and stops them from going any farther.

" Don't flutter, you fools. I want you to stay grounded and fight! Fight or I will kill you all!"

The fishmen are more scared of Tarsus than they are of Christopher. Each one turns around and stares at Christopher. They raise their weapons up and charge at him. Christopher closes his eyes before they slice him. Then, his left hand transforms into a giant fist. He flicks the leader of fishmen towards the rest of them and knocks them over like bowling pins. Lucita then appears, but she's wearing a pink hat and a green sun dress

" This is turning out to be a good first date," Lucita giggled.

" What first date?" Christopher asked.

" You know, silly. The date you promised me one year ago but we never got around to it. It's been so long since we've been together I'm just so happy—" With each pool of light, her awful smile seems to distort further and further, until her mouth seems to be widening all the way back to her ears. " Like a tiger ready to pounce!"

She makes scary gestures to Christopher who is unamused by them. That's when Tarsus charges at him with his two bone swords out. Tarsus multiples into twelve more Tarsus's. They raise their swords up and swing downward. However, Christopher disappears and reappears over the seventh Tarsus in the line.

" You're the real one."

Christopher removes his sword from the scabbard and slashes down. Flames rip through Tarsus's wound and he burns from the inside. The rest of his clones burn with him. Christopher does a flip on the ground and sheathes his sword back into the scabbard.

" Hey, mister." A girl as old as Christopher run up to him. She was a groupie. She was a brunette. A girl wearing huge work boots and baggy jeans. The girl's flannel shirt had thousands of dirt specks on it. Her face was hidden due to her cap. Beautiful. The beautiful girl hugged Christopher, then she turns around and looks at Tarsus. " Is this man dead…"

" No, he's not dead," Christopher replied. "My stings only burned him. But recovery will take weeks before he's strong enough to cause anyone harm—"

The girl leans in on Christopher and kisses his right cheek. Christopher doesn't feel anything from her embrace.

" Thank you for saving us—all of us. Is there anything I can do to make it up for a brave hero like you?" Christopher leans in on her right ear and whispers to her. " Are you sure? But isn't that woman with the black hair your wife?"

" I don't have the tenacity to hold onto things."

The girl smiles and Christopher smiles. The girl then rubs his face again, but this time she feels something that feels like a scar but vanished. The girl is puzzled by this at first, but then she smiles.

" I've never met anyone like you."

###

Fletcher charges at Gaia and punches her in the face. But Fletcher's hand becomes stuck in her face as her face hardens. She then transforms her right hand into a double-edged sword. Just when it seems like she's going to kill him, Fletcher leans over and falls with her. Gaia smashes into dozens of pieces of sand. Fletcher quickly jumps to his feet as Gaia's body transforms into its original host.

" You can't beat me, Perkman!"

Fletcher doesn't listen to her and charges at tremendous speed. He punches her in the neck as hard as he can and her face shatters. But quickly reforms.

" Like I said—"

Fletcher punches Gaia in her mouth this time. His fist clogs her throat. Words cannot be suppressed from her mouth.

" I'm sorry, I can't understand you," Fletcher said sarcastically. " I think you have something _in _your mouth!"

What Fletcher does makes Gaia very angry. She waves her hands back and forth conjuring a giant sandstorm that blows him away. Before Fletcher can get to his feet, a sand modeled Gaia stands over him with her double-edged sword.

" It's like I said, you can't beat me. I'm invincible."

Gaia transforms her two arms into two house size objects and throws Fletcher towards Patrick's body. Patrick is just sitting there, a big hole in his head where Gaia shot him, and it makes Fletcher so angry that when he clenches his fist sweat drips over his fingers. Fletcher touches Patrick's hand where he suddenly feels rejuvenate.

" Don't you get it," Gaia laughed manically. "My brain is an ocean, my muscles are mountains, and my cells are like starfish. No matter how many times you cut me, my limbs will just grow back."

Gaia transforms her right hand into an axe. She raises the axe up about to slice Fletcher, but electricity comes out of Fletcher's arm and explodes Gaia's. When she looks at him she sees his cross-like scar glowing yellow as electricity surges through his fingertips.

" How did you—no, where did you learn that?!" Gaia shouted.

Gaia's hands were scorched. The electricity burned through her stomach like a javelin. Fletcher smiled. " Just something I learned…from my daughter."

" D-Daughter? Who?"

" Thunder Sickle's!"

Fletcher holds out his hand. Sickle blades appear in his hand. Fletcher throws the sickle blades at Gaia. She creates a wall to defend herself, but the sickle blades just explode on contact. Fletcher charges in and karate chops the half part of Gaia away.

" This is for Patrick!"


	14. Chapter 14

Fletcher sticks his hand into Gaia's open hole. Electricity surges through Fletcher's arm and zaps through Gaia's body. Her body then explodes. Not a single trace of sand is noticeable in town. Fletcher looks at his right arm. It is completely turned black because he can't control his powers properly. That's when he sees sand start to rise from the ground. .Two Gaia's from the sand

" Embellishment like that isn't going to stop me, Perkman," The first Gaia said snidely. " I'm covet in ethnic sand; sand so rare it can't be destroyed." The second Gaia said. " Alone we're strong, but together we're _strong_."

Both Gaia's transformed their left arms into giant guns. They fire at Fletcher. Fletcher uses his electric powers to burn through the bullets. They fire again. Fletcher uses his powers to burn through their bullets before they can shot him. The Gaia's stop firing at him.

" I see two isn't going to do anything," Gaia number one said. " What do you think my strong and pretty doppelganger?"

" I think it's time we added more friends."

Gaia transforms her arm into a giant gun and fires it on the ground. When she fires three more Gaia's form out of the ground. The three Gaia's rub their eyes and smile. But they get up and transform their left arms into giant cannons. They fire.

" Thunder Valkyrie!"

Fletcher raises his left hand into the air. Lighting comes down from the sky and zaps over Fletcher. The bullets are consumed by the lightning. When the lightning clears Fletcher is covered in black spots. Gaia is surprised. It seems that Gaia's body is thunder resistant. Fletcher raises his hands over his head and conjures a small ball of thunder

" Thunder Bombardier!"

Fletcher fires a beam of electricity at Gaia. The electricity rips through her body like a sword through flesh. The five Gaia's are ripped apart. But then Gaia forms out of the sand and charges at Fletcher. Her left hand has transformed into a small sledgehammer. Fletcher charges at Gaia while his left hand is charged with electricity. Fletcher and Gaia hit each other at the same time. Fletcher feels like his bones are being fractured by Gaia's sledgehammer and Gaia feels like her left cheek is being burned from the electricity.

" Thunder Shogun Palm!"

" Sand Meteor!"

Gaia and Fletcher jump away from each other. Fletcher charges at Gaia with even more electricity growing from her hand. Gaia uses her powers to form a giant boulder with spikes coming out. She throws the meteor at Fletcher. Fletcher jumps in the air and thrusts his hand against the surface of the meteor. The meteor explodes into clay. Fletcher than falls to the ground and thrusts his hand into Gaia, but she transforms her right hand into two long swords deflecting Fletcher's blow. Fletcher jumps back as Gaia slashes her swords at him.

" I'll skewer you!" Gaia shouted.

Gaia charges at Fletcher. He keeps jumping back away from her as she slashes her swords down. She misses the first strike because Fletcher ducked under the blade. He dodges the next blow because he jumps up in the air as Gaia's sword slashes through the wall. The third slash Gaia manages to cut through Fletcher's chest going through his clothes. She then moves her sword back about to jab it into his throat, but he roars. His voice is strong enough to push Gaia away.

" Hahahaha!" Gaia laughed. Gaia pushed herself off the ground. She rubbed her cheek. There's a big hole inside of it showing the flesh of her bone jaw. Her teeth is serrated like a sharks. But the hole quickly healed. " Not bad, for a kitty attack. Toughened your nipples, didn't it? Let's face it. So far we've been doing nothing but horse play. We know it in our ventricles. Let's transcend from these shells and rise to the heavens as titans."

Fletcher nods his head. The wind starts to breeze more fiercely as Fletcher's hair starts to turn yellow. His hands transform into two giant wings. Soon his entire body transforms into one big lightning bird. Unlike his old form, this one is smaller and has yellow feather's instead of green. Gaia chuckles as she transforms into a horse. Her body was beige with red eyes glowing from her eyes. Both Fletcher and Gaia stomp their feet against the ground ready to charge. Fletcher and Gaia both disappear. They are both in the sky. Fletcher dives down and slices through the horse. But she reforms and charges at Fletcher. She raises her front legs up and kicks Fletcher in his face, but Fletcher covers his face with his wings, spins around and slices the lower half off of Gaia. A sandstorm surrounds Fletcher choking him as hard as it can. Fletcher flutters up away from the sandstorm, but is kicked in the back of the head by Gaia's front hooves. When Fletcher falls more of her clones appear underneath him and bombards him with kicking hooves. Before Fletcher falls on the ground he shrieks as loud as he can. His shriek pushes him off the ground and sends him back into the sky. Fletcher folds his wings around his waist and spins very quickly. He rips through the horse's chest. But they were all only clones. The real Gaia is standing on a brown cloud over Fletcher's head. A giant sandstorm comes out of Gaia's body and moves towards Fletcher. Fletcher uses his powers to summon a giant bolt to counter react with her sandstorm. Both are evenly matched. Until they both collapse from the exhaustion of the battle. Both Fletcher and Gaia are falling to the ground. The impact of it will kill them.

" _If only I have my wind powers," _Fletcher thought. These were the last words he could think of before his head would fall SPLAT into the ground. " _Wind powers…come to me. Wind powers…I need you." _

Fletcher's body starts to change. Green ruffled feathers cover his skin as his arms transform into wings. Fletcher transforms into his other roc form. His green rock form. He swoops down from under Gaia and flies to the ground. They fly nicely to the ground, Fletcher transforms back into his human form. He's holding an unconscious Gaia in his hands. However, Gaia opens her eyes and pushes Fletcher away.

" I don't know how we're still alive, but I'm going to make you pay!"

Gaia tries to transform her right arm into a sand gun. However, despite her efforts her arm won't transform into a gun. Fletcher just stares at her confusedly. She tries to conjure a wicker man like she could before, but the wicker man won't show. No matter what Gaia does none of her attacks work. She falls on her knees and pulls on her sandy blond hair.

" _How can my Devil Fruit just leave me…unless…" _ Gaia gets back on her feet and points her fingers at Fletcher. Fletcher points to himself " Are you a Soul Catcher?"

Before Fletcher can open his mouth Gaia runs at him and prepares to clobber him. She punches him underneath his chin. She expects Fletcher to retaliate but he just stares at her. Gaia gets so angry that she punches Fletcher in the face again and again, different cheeks each punch, but he doesn't do anything. Gaia gets exhausted from hitting Fletcher and grabs his collar.

" What's wrong with you!" She shouted. " Why won't you fight back!" Fletcher doesn't answer her question and just stares at her. She gets so angry that she picks up Patrick's tonfa's and raises it up. " I can break your skull with this! If you don't' want to die, fight back! Fight!" Fletcher closes his eyes awaiting the moment where she would hit him. She blushes at his response at first, but then she hits him with the tonfa. " I'll do it again! I will!" Fletcher just stands there with his eyes closed waiting for it to happen. Gaia notices a smile on Fletcher's face and thinks he's a masochist. When Gaia raises the tonfa to smack Fletcher, she drops it. Gaia starts to babble with tears and jumps into Fletcher's eyes. " All I wanted were real friends, like Nautilus!"

The last moments where Gaia is crying on Fletcher's shoulder. Fletcher pats her back and rubs her hair. That's when he notices something coming out of Gaia's fingers. It's blood. A wound that would normally reform with her powers. It's true…she has lost her sand fruit.


	15. Chapter 15

Fletcher was able to drag Gaia all the way over to the ocean he and Patricia were in. Fletcher leans down and kicks his feet into the water. Gaia tries to do it, but she's afraid her feet are going to wash away in the water. So Fletcher pushes her down and gets her feet wet on purpose.

" The ocean is beautiful, isn't it, Gaia?"

Gaia does think it's beautiful. She didn't notice it before because she always tried to destroy it. That's when she sinks her feet into the water and jumps.

" Ah! It's cold!"

" Hehehehe."

" It's not funny!" Gaia is skeptical at first but then she sinks her feet back into the water. It feels so nice. The atmosphere, the sound of the ocean, and when she looks at Fletcher's smiling face she sees Nautilus's smiling face. Gaia smiles. " I remember when I was a little girl, before I ate my Devil Fruit, I would like to go to the beach and swim. My family owned this one beach we would swim in. I miss Marco-Polo, I miss Chicken, I miss the azure color I'd see when I stick my face under the water. The Devil Fruit took all of it away from me. But I had to eat it if I wanted to become strong."

" That's not true," Fletcher said. "Everyone thinks that all your problems can be solved by using Devil Fruits. The truth is Devil Fruit's don't help you make your dreams come true. A Devil Fruit is more of a nudge in a direction, what we choose to do with them is up to us. I've never eaten a Devil Fruit, but I heard Nautilus talk about it that way. He thinks I don't know but I _know_."

" Fletcher!"

Fletcher turns around and sees Patricia and Patrick standing together. Fletcher is surprised because the wound on his head is gone. Fletcher gets back up and pokes his head. Then he pokes his head again. Patrick giggles as Fletcher keeps poking him.

" Fletcher, stop it," Patrick giggled. He then reached his hand out and pulled Fletcher's hand off his face. " I assure you I'm in no harm."

" B-But I saw you die," Fletcher said.

" Indeed, Patrick was dead," Patricia smiled. " I saw him with the bullet in his head. But Fletcher, you see, Patrick has eaten a Devil Fruit. It's called the Iyasu Iyasu Fruit. Even when his brain is dead, the body can still restore itself. All I needed to do was take the bullet out of his head and his body healed itself."

" Than does that make you some kind of zombie?" Fletcher asked not assessing the situation as well as he should.

" No, silly," Patrick smiled at Fletcher's child-like answer. " It simply means I recover fast."

Patricia, Patrick, and Fletcher all hug each other at the same time. They're happy to be reunited until they see Gaia walking up towards them. Patrcia takes out her sword Archenemy while Patrick takes out his two tonfa's. Gaia freaks out and raises her hands up.

" Fletcher, Gaia's behind you!" Patricia shouted. " Get behind us and we will protect you."

" Do it now, Fletcher." Patrick said while his eyes were fixated only on Gaia. " The sand witch must die—"

" Stop!" Fletcher stepping back and covering Gaia with his arms held out. Gaia is startled to find Fletcher protecting her. " Don't hurt her! She's lost her sand powers and can't hurt anyone anymore."

" She's a demon!" Patricia shouted. " She's only using her body language to manipulate you."

" _Body language," _Gaia thought. " _Who does she think I am? A whore?" _

" I'm sorry, Fletcher," Patrick said. " But we cannot let her survive."

" Where's Supaiku?" Fletcher asked, the mention of his name silenced Patricia and Patrick." He'll always be by my side no matter what. I want to see him now."

Patricia and Patrick rub the back of their heads and back away from each other. Behind them is Supaiku. He has his eyes closed as dry blood is coming from his stomach. Fletcher screams.

" Supaiku!" Fletcher pushes everyone out of the way and runs to his friend. He shakes Supaiku trying to make him wake up. " Please wake up, Supaiku. Please wake up. Supaiku…"

" He won't wake up, Fletcher," Patricia said, her voice was quiet and short as if she was giving Fletcher her deepest condolences. " He's dead. Patrick and I found him with three giant bone spikes sticking out of his stomach. I removed those spikes from his stomach but I was too late. He was already dead. When I found out he was dead I rushed over to find my brother. His powers can heal almost any wound."

" That's why I felt stronger when I touched him," Fletcher said.

"Exactly," Patrick said. " But my powers cannot bring a person back alone…unless… "

" Unless what, Patrick?"

" Unless you kill me, Fletcher. Once I'm dead my Devil Fruit will be reborn. Give it to Supaiku."

" But Devil Fruit's don't work for people who are dead."

" This one does. I know because I was dead when I ate it. Those fishmen, the one's that attacked our family, I was guarding the Devil Fruit tree with my parents at the time. I was killed just like them. My death was slow and painful. I helplessly watched my parents get slayed and then burned. I only had strength to punch the tree. Little did I know that by punching the tree the branch would snap, and it would fall into my waiting mouth. When I awoke the next morning our parents were dead. I was helpless to protect them then, but I will not be helpless to help them now." Patrick unsheathes Patrica's sword from his scabbard, grabs Patricia's hand so it's touching the hilt, and holds it up to his neck. " Sister, you must be the one. As long as the brain is still attached to my wretched neck I'll always come back. You must be the one to decapitate me."

" No…"

" You have to do it, sister. Do it for our family. This is the last fruit of our family tree. If you don't give it to a noble warrior than our family name will never flourish again."

" No…"

" Sister, I know there are some bad fishmen in this world, but not all of them are bad. I saw it. This one protected you more in one day than I could ever protect you my whole life. By giving him my fruit you'll also be giving him my soul."

" No!"


	16. Chapter 16

Patricia shivers on the handle, small trickles of blood are dripping from Patrick's neck, but the stimulus of the situation is enough to act like a pain killer to Patrick. Patricia gives in. She knows there's no point trying to argue with Patrick while his mind is set on that. She raises her sword up and prepares to hack his neck off…

" Wait!" Gaia shouted. Patricia stopped. She wanted to hear what Gaia had to say. " There'd be no need for such petty violence if you just listen to me. You don't need to kill him to get that Devil Fruit out of him, because you have a Soul Catcher."

" What's a Soul Catcher?" Patricia asked.

" So you don't know? I'm not surprised. Not many knew about the Soul Catcher's. Only five people in history have ever discovered one, and one of them was my father. Soul Catchers are derived from the term ' Soul Hunter's" or 'Devil Fruit Catcher's'. As you know there are people known as WH: Witch Hunter's. Witches are callous, ruthless, evil beings that now control one-third of the Grand Line. Most witches don't need men to give birth to their children, because most of them study in the way of necromancy. There are some, however, who choose to procreate with human beings. Some of those humans have eaten Devil Fruit's in their lives."

" So are you saying that Fletcher's mother…was a witch?" Patrick said, the thought of sweet little Fletcher having a witch for a mother discombobulated him.

" I don't know. It's only a myth that it's witches who conceive Soul Catcher's. For all I know Fletcher's mother could be a three eyed Cyclops who hides in caves and eats people."

" My mother is dead," Fletcher said. " She died giving birth to me."

" Nevertheless, you have the power to take Devil Fruit's out of people's bodies."

" How?"

" By touching them. Your hands can enter people's hearts and remove the Devil Fruit's out of them. When you caught me before our plummet, my fruit was sucked into your body."

" So I can just give you back your sand fruit—"

" You cannot. The sand fruit has already been inside my system. It's now poison to me. The only thing you can do now is give it to someone who's never eaten a Devil Fruit."

" Supaiku's never eaten a Devil Fruit."

" It also can only be given to someone who's human."

" Supaiku's half human."

" Good. It can work. I need you to listen very carefully to me. I want you to walk up to that boy—"

" My name is Patrick!" Patrick exclaimed.

" Whatever. I need you to walk up to Patrick and put your hand on his chest. You hand will go straight through his solid flesh and take the Devil Fruit out of him. It will be just like Easter."

" My dad would bury our Easter eggs for Easter," Patricia said.

" So would mine," Fletcher said.

" Just pay attention to what I'm saying. Once you remove the fruit from your friend's body it can never be put back inside of him. So he'll need to ask himself, can he be willing to do so?"

" I think he had me when he was willing to die for his friend," Fletcher smiled, he took one look at Patrick. Patrick also smiled. They were friends. At a time like this Fletcher would look at his pendant for hope, but it was stolen from him. " Okay, let's do it."

Fletcher walks up to Patrick and puts his hand on his chest. Fletcher then closes his eyes and thinks about how he is going to get through. His hand passes through Patrick's chest, Patricia gasps at this and covers her mouth as Patrick than takes out the fruit and shows it to Patrick. It looked like a green pineapple with a three pointed stem sticking out of the back. Fletcher then walks to Supaiku and puts the fruit in front of his face.

" Supaiku, this is for you."

Fletcher drops the fruit into Supaiku's mouth, he then moves his mouth up and down crunching on the fruit. Fletcher stops as he believes the fruit has entered down his trachea. At first nothing happens. Fletcher fears that it means Supaiku is dead. But suddenly, a small yellow fairy flies out of Supaiku's stomach and winks at Fletcher. It then flies back into Supaiku's stomach. When Supaiku opens his eyes he sees Fletcher standing over him and smiling at him as small tears drips from his eyes.

" F-Fletcher, what's wrong?"

Fletcher holds out his hands and jumps on Supaiku. Fletcher hugs the confused fishmen as hard as he can. Supaiku is surprised with what's going on between him. Supaiku however gives in and hugs Fletcher behind his chest. The rest of the three smile at them. When Patricia turns her head around Gaia is gone.

" What is it, Patricia?" Patrick asked, who was so joyous to see the two crewmates reunited he completely forgot about Gaia.

" I thought I saw…never mind." Patricia stops and laughs at Fletcher and Supaiku. Together they were the ultimate comedy duo. While Fletcher was hugging Supaiku he had narrow eyes and a look that said " I want to kill Fletcher G. Perkman". Patricia finally walked up to Fletcher and Supaiku and held out her hand. " Will you two please follow me to my restaurant."

###

Christopher is lying in bed with the girl he's just met. She's rubbing her face against the pillow while rubbing her nose against it like a cat. Christopher takes out a cigarette he's left in his pocket, takes a whiff of it, then blows on it.

" I thought you hated those things." Christopher turns around and sees Lucita lying in the bed. Christopher blows smoke towards her, where his smoke looks like a sailing ship. Lucita traps it in a heart smoke cloud that says LOVE on it. " Greatest weed in the Grand Line."

" I don't really taste it," Christopher lied, he took another puff of the pipe as his instincts took control of him. " I just don't feel like living. But how can I not feel like living when I'm already _dead_?"

" I don't know why boys like bosoms so much. Mine are voluptuous. But they're no different from yours. Can I have a pinch?" Lucita reaches her hand out and touches Christopher's nipples. He freezes from the tough of her fingers. Lucita twists them around. "Yours are very sensitive. And they're also wounded. Here, let mommy heal them for you." Lucita kisses Christopher's nipples. He shakes at how smooth her lips are but then stops.

" Remember that story you told me? About how you lost everything that included love."

" Yes, my little piston. It was the day I was in camp."


	17. Chapter 17

**It was the time of Great Depression for Lucita Redford. Times were tough, people were moody, brothers turned on brothers, sisters turned on sisters, families turned against each other, the rich became the poor and the poor became the obsolete. Pirates took over her village. One man, the petty officer who protected Lucita and her mother, the women from the brothel, made a scavenger team to seek out anything that could help the resistance: food, wool, blankets, medicine. **

Life in the Depression wasn't easy for thirteen year old Lucita. She was still short. Malnourished, her arms and legs wouldn't grow any longer. The only clothes she could sew for herself was an itchy coat and scarf. Lucita lost hope—hope that her mother would come back to her. It had been years since Lucita's mother was taken. Lucita survived on her own—she couldn't trust anyone to help her. Even waiting in line with poor, hungry people such as herself, something bad could happen.

" What is this!" A scavenger shouted.

His name is Fini. A nasty-looking man with a head like a potato, pig eyes, and a pig nose stuck in the middle. A year ago he joined the scavenger team to try and help the villagers in these _depressing _of times. It was all a lie. Fini didn't care about the villagers; he cared only for himself. Fini acted like a big man as a scavenger, drunk, he acted like he should eat more. Another scavenger, Hikaru, stepped in the way of Fini.

" One bowl of hot soup and one loaf of bread for everyone. That was OUR agreement!"

" There's dirt in my soup. Spit, too. Your little whore put it in there."

" She's my wife! Take that gruel and go away!"

If there's one thing Lucita learned about Fini of her years living here, it was that Fini was egotistical and prideful, like a male lion. Fini grabbed his hard piece of bread and smacked it like a mallet on Hikaru's head. They would tear each other like dogs. Hikaru's wife Fay stepped in and pulled her husband away. Fay was tall, slim, and fair-skin even though she is dirty. Her blond hair was kept tucked in under a white straw hat adorned with plastic butterflies. Her green dress covered in a white apron. Her green eyes reflected off that green dress. Fini cocked his fingers into a small fist and punched Hikaru in his nose.

" Stop it!"

Fini was drunk, drunk with anger. He pushed everyone away! He grabbed as many loaf's of bread his greedy hands could handle and stuffed them in his pig-faced mouth. Lucita was disgusted…the pig. At least share with everyone—everyone deserves a piece of bread, whether they were old, young, men, or women. Lucita hated it here. She hated Fini. She even hated Hikaru and Fay. She couldn't like anyone; she could if someone would like her.

Lucita found her chance. A loaf of bread dropped from the table into the cold mud. Lucita scurried to the ground, leaped for the bread, and caught it. Down went Fini's foot! It crushed Lucita's little hands. The boots started to twist! Lucita cried her little mouth off, antagonized by Fini. He hollered above her.

" Give that back to me, little bitch!"

Lucita knew she was dead now. She was powerless to Fini. Fini grabbed her by the bun of her black hair and raised her, just like a cat or a puppy. A small serrated blade covered the axis of her eyes. Fini was holding that serrated blade to her neck, slit her throat. Lucita could only cower when Fini…Fini was pushed from the table onto the table! The table smashed asunder, ripping into a debris of small dozen wood.

Lucita crawled away from her provocateur and hurried to her protector. The person was Go-san. He was the second-in-command of the scavenger's. His eyes meant Fury; red. His hair was long, spiky, black with a silver sheen in them. His clothes were plain gray shirt and long brown pants that hugged him tightly. And his boots were large and purple. The brief time he'd spent with pirates had made him nervous at gut level, and he was now irrationally afraid that his thoughts, feelings, and anxieties were somehow broadcast to anyone with the skills to detect them. Go-san squeezed his four fingers together and stuck out his thumbs.

" I can beat you with just my thumbs."

Fini wasn't one to go down easily. He stood up and raised his serrated blade to Go-san, undaunted. Fini charged at Go-san and swished his blade at his neck. Fini was pushed back by a powerful imitation, a bullet that went through his gut but didn't go out. Fini was pushed back to the cold muddy ground. Fini quickly got back on his feet and swished his blade at Go-san, but Go-san ducked under Fini and pushed those two fingers into his stomach. Go-san started to contort. He twisted Fini's bellybutton and disarmed him with a head-chop to his right arm.

" Hell…" Fini managed to speak before Go-san pushed him back one more time. " …was that?"

Go-san broke two ventricles, his ribs, broke one tendon, disarmed Fini, and he did it all using only his thumbs. Go-san was mighty. Everyone looked up to Go-san. Everyone in the camp cheered for him, applauded him, and were absolved by his greatness. Everyone, that is, expect for Lucita. She hated Go-san. Deep down was a dark aura. He was a very bad man.


	18. Chapter 18

Winter. Cold. The hazardous chemicals the pirates put into the atmosphere-cigarette smoke, pesticides, burning trees-the sky had become a disastrous array of cold breeze, impossible to see through fog, and hailstorms. Dead bodies were piling over each other, mountains of corpses, but people still managed to strive. Families lived together to emit body heat keeping them warm.

Lucita had no family. She had no one to keep her warm. She lived alone, eating nothing but cold stews and dirty bread, all of which Keldo brought to her. Speaking of Keldo, here he came now with a bag over his shoulder. Keldo was now the spitting image of a Petty Officer. His attire was now a green blazer, overtop his old plain white shirt. Unlike most of the normal scavengers, his face was clean from dirt specks and almost feminine. What he still had was that scar over his left eye, blue eyes glimmering like a hot spring, and those sneakers. nearly half a year before he found a pair of dirty trousers to this day he now wore. And his brown hair was covered by a pink bandana. He carried Dai-Kuronama, a curved greatsword. Dai-Kuronama would always be used in a upper stance. Ornately handled with the Jolly Roger symbol as the guard, gold coloured daito. Black with gold-coloured decorative scabbard.

Keldo was the only family Lucita had left. With the collapse of her home - the brothel, and the deaths of Lucita's mother and friends - Keldo took her as his adopted child. Lucita hadn't spoke much of her mother. Keldo could see she hadn't completely moved on, but she shunned all hope that her mother was still alive.

" Look what I've got," Keldo said. He tried to sound cheerful in Lucita's presence, but his phony voice wasn't fooling anyone. Keldo reached his hand into the sack. He pulled out a doll and showed it to Lucita. The doll was made of old pillow cases, sewn by visible needles, red licorice for hair, and two pinned pickles for the eyes. " Isn't it beautiful? I brought it just for you."

Lucita wasn't impressed. She didn't care what Keldo brought her. Some stupid doll wasn't going to bring her mother back; all it did was cause pain to the comfort. Keldo still placed the doll beside Lucita as she read her book " 1000 Dresses And How To Sew Them."

" Did you kill any pirates today?" Lucita asked.

" No," Keldo replied. " Luckily, we didn't run into any of them. The whole town is deserted. But there still here, there boats are at the docks. Remember: no shouting, no running, and no fire. We can't let them know we're here."

" It's alright for you to do it because you don't care about us, scuttle."

Keldo smacked Lucita in the right side of her cheek. A small red palm print burned across her cheek. Small tears leaked out of Lucita as she stared into Keldo's eyes, her eyes covered in tears, and stared. Keldo wasn't impressed with her.

" That's a pirate word. It's full of hate. Now I'm on patrol tonight. I need you to be a good girl and stay here. Do you understand?"

" Yes-"

Keldo jumped on Lucita. Keldo opened up both his hands and started ticking her. Lucita tried slapping his hands away, kicking her feet and shouting "Stop" but Keldo continued to tickle her. It was strange, but it made Lucita laugh. She laughed so hard she thought her appendix was going to burst-turned out it didn't.

" Are you going to fall asleep?" Keldo laughed. " Huh? Fall asleep. Fall asleep, little girl, or the Claw will come and get you."

" Okay, okay!" Lucita laughed. " I'll sleep, I'll sleep."

" That's a good girl-that's my girl."Keldo stopped tickling her. Then he rubbed her small black bun hair. With that, Keldo strode away from Lucita back outside, but not before saying good-night to her. " Good night, Lucita."

" Goodnight, daddy-"

Lucita didn't know why she said that. Daddy. She meant to call him "Keldo", but the word just came out like her lips were lisp. She assumed Keldo would be furious with her, maybe even hit her, for saying that. Instead he just turned around and looked at her and smiled.

" Good night, kiddo."

It was _weird, _but also fun. Lucita never had a father in her life - that father walked out the door like Keldo walked out of her tent. Keldo was off to help the village and the Resistance. How could Lucita fall asleep now. She could help the village anyway she can. She can use her sewing skills to make clothes for everyone, or keep them warm with her snuggles, or even find flashlights out there so people can see at night.

Lucita was on her way...the room turned cold. Not innately cold. This cold was aberrant. Lucita took a deep breath; it was so cold she could literally see her icy, misty breath. And underneath the tents' flap she could see a shadow silhouette. These weren't the shadows of villager's or Resistance, their arm shadows were bulging out too much and horns protrude from their heads.

Lucita quickly grabbed the covers for her mattress and hid under them, raising them over her head and dropping them over her. Only one eye was visible through a nearly invisible eyehole. They were coming. Lucita didn't know who, just two people carrying weapons walking into her room...

Then there was gunfire. The shadows fled in ant's or terror. Through the shadow silhouette's of the Resistance, one shadows bolts to a Resistance member, sinking his fangs into that Resistance's jugular. He snapped the Resistance man's neck in two.

The fatal howl of Fini. Lucita's saw his shadow silhouette, someone was sucking his blood out like a vacuum. Some of that crimson trickle red was dripping from that shadows' canines. Lucita wanted to yelp, she wanted to cry for help, but the _war _scared her...

A shadow stepped into Lucita's tent. Saliva dripped from its canine - Lucita tries to turn her head away. She finds herself staring into its eyes-pupils pulsing rapid-fire, opening and closing, hypnotically. The last thing Lucita heard was a silent _phufft _as a small hole exploded in her tent, and the ugly face of a demon JUMP HER!


	19. Chapter 19

They captured Lucita. She fought as hard as she could, but they thrashed her with a blunt object. When she awoken she was inside a catacomb. She was with dozens of other kids, separated from their mommies and daddies, who were forced to work for the pirates. They also worked for another thing. It was big , it was scary, and although it did look like a clueless stuffed animal, wearing pants but no shirt, it was still dangerous. Lucita called them MinoBat's. They were cow hybrid's with the bodies of man, the faces and horns of cows, but the wings of bats. They carried large spiked clubs, strong enough to bash a person's head open.

Lucita's closes were in shambles. She already had the sleeves cut off. The guards abused her. Her hands were covered in blisters from all that shoveling. It was their point that kids, so long as they can walk and talk, worked as hard and as long as them. The swelling grew worse. Everyday it felt like a hundred insects were sucking out her hand at the same time, but growing worse. Lucita could only blow on her hand. One deep breath and a blow she went.

Lucita heard someone crying. It wasn't uncommon. Lucita saw at least twenty people everyday cuddled up to each other and trickling away, shedding those tears all over each other. But this one was different. A boy, a handsome boy. His body was well-toned, chiseled lips Lucita wanted to smooch all day, blond, and naturally tanned. The boy was wearing a red shirt with black trousers. Around his neck was a small sharp tooth that looked like a wolves. His hazel eyes were swelling to the brim with inflamed tears. Lucita just wanted to walk up to that boy and help him out in some way. So she did.

Lucita touched the boy's right shoulder pad, leaned close to his left ear, and said, " Why are you crying?"

" I-I'm not crying," the boy said, trying to act all macho in front of the lady.

" Yes you are. You're crying," Lucita said.

" I'm not...okay, I'm crying. I-I was working with my sister when she gave up. I tried to help her, but those mean MinoBat's swooped down and took her from me." The boy sniffed through his nose, sniffing again when he didn't sound like a _baby. _" She's my sister. I'll do anything to get her back, but they won't let me near her."

" It's alright, it's alright. I need you to calm down. Start by telling me your name."

" Okay. My name is Diego. Diego Sora."

" My name is Lucita Redford. And I'll get your sister back for you."

" How?" Diego asked. " That place is heavily guarded, and if they find you trespassing on their land then you'll be shot."

" If life has taught me anything is that there's always a way," Lucita said.

" Actually, I think their might be a way for you to get in."

" No, please, don't give me a weapon."

" No, not a weapon. Do you know why they sent us down here?"

" No."

" It's because they want to find Devil Fruit's."

" Devil Fruit's?"

" Yes. Devil Fruit's are mystical fruits that when you eat them you'll be giving the powers of the Devil. But you'll also lose your power to swim. You can never do front crawls, back crawls, butterflies, cannonballs, stro-"

" I get it," Lucita said. "What do the Devil Fruit's have to do with all our digging?"

" Devil Fruit's can be like candy wrappers. No matter how you throw them out they'll just be recycled and reused for other candy. They thinks the remains of a fruit are somewhere down here. But hey won't be able to eat because someone might've already shanghaied them and ate the fruit. And two people can't use the same fruit. But people will pay the top-dollar to get their hands on one."

" And this concerns me how?"

" Because I know where we can find a Devil Fruit. I found it and made a map that shows it's location. All you have to do is follow the map and eat the fruit."

" Wait, are you saying you know where a Devil Fruit is? Why didn't you eat it yourself?"

" I tried. But then a creepy voice said to me ' Only a maiden can guzzle this buffet of infinite magnitude down. At first I didn't know what it means, but now I think I understand. It means...only a girl can eat this Devil Fruit."


End file.
